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“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. The guidance we offer all of our clients to put everything they’ve got into canned food and shotguns.” This piece of wise counsel comes from the Brain Gremlin – a lab-engineered, talking, spectacled member of the slick creature crowd that swarms Manhattan’s ultra-modern Clamp Tower skyscraper in helmer Joe Dante’s madcap sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. On the surface, it’s merely an portfolio pointer from one monster to another. However, oddly enough, it’s also surprisingly sturdy life advice. Truly, consider my perspective.

When things go bad, the biggest mistake you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin understands this. In fact, the majority of the toothy monsters that occupy Dante’s unrestrained 1990 movie (arguably his best) possess the same sly, self-aware funny bone regarding the hazy boundary 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 underlying idea that strikes the deepest chord.

A Childhood Fixation

Naturally, my attachment to this movie didn’t start on such an deeply thoughtful note. In my youth, we were limited to a few battered VHS tapes at home. Among them were Gremlins and its second chapter, the latter housed in a bulky previously-rented case probably bought from an non-chain rental store and sporting growling monsters on its worn-out artwork. I was instantly captivated and these films did not delay inserting themselves inside my small, malleable brain. From then on, they became an almost-daily part of my youthful watching schedule.

Dante’s original typically gets all the accolades, thanks mostly because of its reputation as a moderately spooky festive favorite – and let me be clear, I’ve watched Gremlins an incalculable number of times. That said, its follow-up infrequently obtains the same level of high regard, which feels a travesty. As a kid, I’d never miss an opportunity to watch Gremlins 2. During long summer holidays, I’d lock myself inside and stick it on. When I acquired my personal TV-VHS combo unit, it continued playing looped in my bedroom. Gradually, it became deeply rooted in my mindset. If my parents noticed this obsession, they didn’t seem to mind.

Hidden Discoveries and Pop-Culture Easter Eggs

As I matured, new revelations rewarded multiple watches, amplifying the pleasure of watching little green monsters joyously wreck a New York high-rise. I learned the forward-thinking development mogul and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was based squarely upon the eventual commander-in-chief Donald Trump, with his red-headed employee Marla (Haviland Morris) echoing his former spouse Marla Maples. Luckily, Clamp possesses greater compassion than his genuine article inspiration.

The “apocalyptic” 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 actually met its demise. I noticed how Dante made a special effort to film different iterations of a meta sequence where Gremlins take over the actual feature in progress. One for cinemas, a separate one for tape and broadcast, each delivering a smirking slice of meta pop-culture magic prior to the concept being mainstream.

A Persistent Appeal

While it was creature designer Rick Baker’s wonderfully grotesque creatures that caught my eye 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 hesitation informing me he made the movie with the direct intention of ridiculing those who loved its silly-yet-sincere predecessor and wanted more. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he gleefully confessed. This cartoonish defiance and resolve to not take his sequel as solemnly as his Warner Bros bosses evidently expected, only deepened my appreciation further.

When I experienced a abrupt familial death earlier this year, I was surprised to find that, during my heightest mourning, all I wanted to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Strange, isn’t it? Possibly not. The soothing reminiscence it provided was necessary to weaken my mind’s sadness sludge – but the insights it had given me as an adult were equally valuable.

Like Gremlins rampaging through a genetics laboratory, there’s some things in life you just can’t control. Dante knows it. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to emulate them: welcome the pandemonium, commit your entire being into canned food and shotguns and try not to approach life with excessive gravity.

It’s powerful existential guidance from a highly unexpected fountain – and it’s why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will eternally stand as my go-to cinematic solace.