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“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. We’re advising all of our clients to put everything they’ve got into preserved goods and firearms.” That bit of sage advice comes from the Brain Gremlin – a genetically modified, articulate, bespectacled member of the slick creature crowd that infests Manhattan’s ultra-modern Clamp Tower skyscraper in director Joe Dante’s unhinged continuation Gremlins 2: The New Batch. At first glance, it’s merely an financial suggestion from one monster to another. However, in a strange manner, it’s also remarkably sound existential counsel. Honestly, listen to my reasoning.

When situations deteriorate, the biggest mistake you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. In fact, a large portion of the toothy monsters that inhabit Dante’s unrestrained 1990 movie (arguably his best) possess the same wry, meta funny bone regarding the indistinct border separating the mundane and absolute bedlam. It’s one element of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that ensures my return – and with the passage of time, it’s the message that strikes the deepest chord.

A Childhood Fixation

Of course, my connection with this movie wasn’t born on such an introspective level. Growing up, we only had a few well-worn videocassettes at home. Part of that group were Gremlins and its follow-up, the latter housed in a chunky ex-rental box likely purchased from an off-brand video shop and sporting grimacing beasts on its tattered front. I was instantly captivated and these films quickly proceeded inserting themselves inside my young, susceptible psyche. From then on, they became an near-everyday part of my childhood viewing routine.

Dante’s initial installment typically gets all the plaudits, thanks largely to its reputation as a partly frightening holiday classic – and don’t get me wrong, I’ve watched Gremlins more times than I can count. That said, its follow-up rarely gets the same level of elevated esteem, which feels a travesty. As a kid, I’d always seize the chance to watch Gremlins 2. During sunny school summer breaks, I’d retreat into the house and pop it in. When I got my own TV-VHS combo unit, it stayed in constant rotation in my bedroom. Over time, it became deeply rooted in my psyche. If my parents observed this fixation, they didn’t seem to mind.

Subtler Delights and Societal Nuggets

As I matured, new revelations enhanced multiple watches, elevating the fun of watching diminutive verdant beasts joyously wreck a New York high-rise. I learned the ahead-of-its-time development mogul and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was based squarely upon future president Donald Trump, with his auburn-haired worker Marla (Haviland Morris) alluding to his former spouse Marla Maples. Luckily, Clamp demonstrates more humanity than his genuine article inspiration.

The “end of civilisation” video Clamp plays during peak-Gremlin chaos? I discovered it was based on a real-life “Doomsday” video commissioned by the CNN boss Ted Turner as a contingency for the world truly faced apocalypse. I noticed how Dante took extra pains to film alternate cuts of a self-referential segment where Gremlins seize control of the actual feature in progress. A version for theaters, a separate one for tape and broadcast, each delivering a smirking slice of meta pop-culture magic prior to the concept being mainstream.

An Enduring Legacy

While it was creature designer Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this subsurface richness kept me hooked as an adult. Ultimately, I even conversed with Dante about it myself and he had no qualms revealing to me he made the movie with the specific aim of ridiculing those who loved its absurd-yet-genuine predecessor and craved further installments. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he happily revealed. This cartoonish insubordination and commitment to not take his sequel as gravely as his Warner Bros bosses evidently expected, only made me love it even more.

When I endured a abrupt familial death not long ago, I was surprised to find that, during my heightest mourning, all I wanted to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Odd, no? Possibly not. The nostalgic calm it furnished was essential to dilute my mind’s sadness sludge – but the insights it had given me as an adult were similarly beneficial.

Like Gremlins running amok in a genetics laboratory, there’s certain elements in life you just cannot manage. Dante is aware of it. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to be like them: embrace the chaos, put everything you’ve got into canned food and shotguns and try not to take things too seriously.

It’s strong life advice from a most improbable origin – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will always be my comfort movie.