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“Well, conditions are quite harsh here. We’re advising all of our clients to invest all their resources into preserved goods and firearms.” That bit of wise counsel comes from the Brain Gremlin – a lab-engineered, articulate, bespectacled member of the slimy Gremlin horde that overruns Manhattan’s super-smart Clamp Tower skyscraper in filmmaker Joe Dante’s madcap sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Superficially, it’s nothing more than an financial suggestion from one monster to another. Yet, oddly enough, it’s also pretty solid life guidance. Truly, consider my perspective.

When life takes a turn for the worse, the most counterproductive action you can do is approach matters with excessive gravity. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. Indeed, a large portion of the dentally-gifted beasts that occupy Dante’s unrestrained 1990 movie (possibly his finest) possess the same knowing, self-referential comic sensibility regarding the hazy boundary separating the mundane and unadulterated chaos. It’s a single component of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that maintains my loyalty – and with the passage of time, it’s the theme that strikes the deepest chord.

An Early Life Obsession

Naturally, my connection with this movie didn’t start on such an introspective level. As a child, we were limited to a few well-worn videocassettes at home. Included within that collection were Gremlins and its second chapter, the latter housed in a chunky ex-rental box probably bought from an non-chain rental store and sporting growling monsters on its tattered front. I was immediately enamoured and these films quickly proceeded lodging themselves inside my young, susceptible psyche. Henceforth, they became an almost-daily part of my early years entertainment regimen.

Dante’s original commonly garners all the accolades, thanks primarily due to its status as a partly frightening holiday classic – and don’t get me wrong, I’ve watched Gremlins on countless occasions. Nevertheless, its follow-up rarely gets the same level of high regard, which feels unjust. As a kid, I’d invariably jump at the prospect to watch Gremlins 2. During sunny school summer breaks, I’d lock myself inside and stick it on. When I acquired my personal TV-VHS combo unit, it remained on repeat in my bedroom. Gradually, it became deeply rooted in my psyche. If my parents noticed this obsession, they didn’t seem to mind.

Deeper Discoveries and Societal Easter Eggs

As I got older, new revelations enhanced frequent screenings, amplifying the pleasure of watching diminutive verdant beasts joyously wreck a New York high-rise. I learned the ahead-of-its-time real estate tycoon and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was modeled closely on future president Donald Trump, with his auburn-haired worker Marla (Haviland Morris) referencing his former spouse Marla Maples. Fortunately, Clamp has more heart than his real-life counterpart.

The “apocalyptic” video Clamp plays during the height of creature carnage? I discovered it was based on a real-life “Doomsday” video commissioned by the CNN boss Ted Turner should the world really ended. I noticed how Dante went out of his way to film different iterations of a self-referential segment where Gremlins seize control of the very film you’re watching. An edit for movie houses, a separate one for tape and broadcast, each providing a grinning portion of fourth-wall-breaking cultural alchemy before the term was even a thing.

A Persistent Legacy

While it was effects expert Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this hidden treasure held my interest as an adult. Eventually, I even conversed with Dante about it myself and he had no reservations revealing to me he made the movie with the specific aim of poking fun at those who loved its goofy-but-heartfelt predecessor and wanted more. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he gleefully confessed. This Looney Tunes-esque insubordination and resolve to not take his sequel as seriously as his Warner Bros bosses obviously desired, only deepened my appreciation further.

When I endured a sudden family bereavement not long ago, I was astonished to realize that, during my deepest grief, all I felt compelled to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Weird, right? Maybe not. The soothing reminiscence it offered was necessary to weaken my mind’s mourning mire – but the stuff it had imparted to me as an adult were just as useful.

Like Gremlins rampaging through a genetics laboratory, there’s particular aspects in life you just are powerless over. Dante is aware of it. The Brain Gremlin knows it too. Sometimes, you have to follow their example: accept the turmoil, invest all your resources into tinned provisions and hunting rifles and try not to approach life with excessive gravity.

It’s robust worldly wisdom from a very unlikely source – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will eternally stand as my go-to cinematic solace.