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“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. We’re advising all of our clients to commit their entire holdings into canned food and shotguns.” This piece of sage advice comes from the Brain Gremlin – a lab-engineered, articulate, bespectacled member of the slick creature crowd that infests Manhattan’s ultra-modern Clamp Tower skyscraper in helmer Joe Dante’s madcap sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. At first glance, it’s nothing more than an portfolio pointer from one monster to another. But, curiously, it’s also pretty solid existential counsel. Seriously, consider my perspective.

When life takes a turn for the worse, the biggest mistake you can do is view events with undue solemnity. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. In fact, a large portion of the fang-bearing creatures that populate Dante’s chaotic 1990 feature (possibly his finest) possess the same knowing, self-referential funny bone regarding the blurry line separating daily routine and pure pandemonium. It’s a particular aspect of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that keeps me coming back – and as I age, it’s the theme that resonates the most.

An Early Life Obsession

Understandably, my attachment to this movie did not begin on such an philosophical plane. Growing up, we were limited to a few scratched-up video tapes at home. Among them were Gremlins and its sequel, the latter housed in a chunky ex-rental box likely purchased from an independent video outlet and boasting snarling creatures on its tattered front. I was immediately enamoured and these films quickly proceeded lodging themselves inside my young, susceptible psyche. From then on, they became an practically routine part of my youthful watching schedule.

Dante’s initial installment commonly garners all the plaudits, thanks largely to its legacy as a partly frightening holiday classic – and to be fair, 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 criminal. As a kid, I’d invariably jump at the prospect to watch Gremlins 2. During sunny school summer breaks, I’d retreat into the house and pop it in. When I acquired my personal TV-VHS combo unit, it stayed in constant rotation in my bedroom. Gradually, it ingrained itself in my mindset. If my parents observed this fixation, they appeared unbothered.

Subtler Rewards and Cultural References

As I got older, new revelations enhanced frequent screenings, heightening the enjoyment of watching diminutive verdant beasts happily vandalize a New York high-rise. I learned the future-focused development mogul and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was inspired directly by the eventual commander-in-chief Donald Trump, with his red-headed employee Marla (Haviland Morris) alluding to his former spouse Marla Maples. Thankfully, Clamp has more heart than his real-life counterpart.

The “apocalyptic” video Clamp plays during maximum monster mayhem? I discovered it was inspired by a genuine “Doomsday” video produced by the CNN boss Ted Turner in case the world really ended. I noticed how Dante took extra pains to film alternate cuts of a self-aware scene where Gremlins hijack the actual feature in progress. A version for theaters, a separate one for tape and broadcast, each offering a winking bit of fourth-wall-breaking cultural alchemy ahead of its time.

A Persistent Influence

While it was effects expert Rick Baker’s wonderfully grotesque creatures that caught my eye as a child, this hidden treasure maintained my fascination as an adult. In time, I even spoke to Dante about it myself and he had no reservations telling me he made the movie with the specific aim of mocking those who loved its absurd-yet-genuine predecessor and wanted more. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he happily revealed. This Looney Tunes-esque defiance and determination to not take his sequel as seriously as his Warner Bros bosses evidently expected, only made me love it even more.

When I endured a unexpected loss in the family not long ago, I was surprised to find that, during my deepest grief, all I wanted to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Strange, isn’t it? Perhaps not. The comforting familiarity it furnished was needed to thin out my mind’s grief morass – but the perspectives it had imparted to me as an adult were similarly beneficial.

Like Gremlins tearing apart a genetics laboratory, there’s particular aspects in life you just are powerless over. Dante knows it. The Brain Gremlin agrees completely. Sometimes, you have to follow their example: embrace the chaos, invest all your resources into preserved goods and firearms and try not to take things too seriously.

It’s strong life advice from a most improbable origin – and it’s why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will forever remain my comfort movie.