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“Well, conditions are quite harsh here. We’re advising all of our clients to invest all their resources into tinned provisions and hunting rifles.” This piece of wise counsel comes from the Brain Gremlin – a lab-engineered, talking, bespectacled member of the slimy Gremlin horde that infests Manhattan’s super-smart Clamp Tower skyscraper in director Joe Dante’s zany follow-up Gremlins 2: The New Batch. At first glance, it’s simply an investment tip from one monster to another. But, in a strange manner, it’s also pretty solid existential counsel. Honestly, hear me out.

When things go bad, the most counterproductive action you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin understands this. Actually, most of the fang-bearing creatures that populate Dante’s chaotic 1990 feature (possibly his finest) possess the same wry, meta sense of humour regarding the hazy boundary separating everyday life and unadulterated chaos. It’s a single component of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that keeps me coming back – and the older I get, it’s the theme that resonates the most.

A Childhood Obsession

Understandably, my attachment to this movie didn’t start on such an introspective level. As a child, we only had a few battered VHS tapes at home. Among them were Gremlins and its follow-up, the latter housed in a bulky previously-rented case probably bought from an off-brand video shop and boasting grimacing beasts on its tattered front. I was instantly captivated and these films did not delay lodging themselves inside my young, susceptible psyche. From then on, they became an practically routine part of my childhood viewing routine.

Dante’s first film typically gets all the praise, thanks mostly because of its reputation as a semi-scary seasonal fave – and let me be clear, I’ve watched Gremlins on countless occasions. However, its successor rarely gets the same level of lofty appreciation, which feels criminal. As a kid, I’d always seize the chance to watch Gremlins 2. During long summer holidays, I’d seclude myself indoors and stick it on. When I got my own TV-VHS combo unit, it stayed in constant rotation in my bedroom. Gradually, it ingrained itself in my psyche. If my parents detected this preoccupation, they didn’t seem to mind.

Subtler Rewards and Pop-Culture Nuggets

As I got older, new understandings rewarded repeat viewings, amplifying the pleasure 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 modeled closely on the eventual commander-in-chief Donald Trump, with his red-headed employee Marla (Haviland Morris) echoing his one-time partner Marla Maples. Luckily, Clamp possesses greater compassion than his genuine article inspiration.

The “end of civilisation” video Clamp plays during maximum monster mayhem? I discovered it was based on a actual “Doomsday” video produced by the CNN boss Ted Turner should the world truly faced apocalypse. I noticed how Dante went out of his way to film alternate cuts of a self-referential segment where Gremlins hijack the actual feature in progress. An edit for movie houses, one for VHS and TV, each offering a winking bit of self-referential entertainment sorcery ahead of its time.

An Enduring Influence

While it was effects expert Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this hidden treasure held my interest as an adult. In time, 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 ridiculing those who loved its goofy-but-heartfelt predecessor and craved further installments. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he cheerfully disclosed. This anarchic rebelliousness and resolve to not take his sequel as solemnly as his Warner Bros bosses obviously desired, only made me love it even more.

When I went through a abrupt familial death earlier this year, I was astonished to realize that, during my most profound sorrow, all I desired to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Weird, right? Perhaps not. The soothing reminiscence it offered was essential to dilute my mind’s sadness sludge – but the insights it had bestowed upon me as an adult were equally valuable.

Like Gremlins tearing apart a genetics laboratory, there’s certain elements in life you just cannot manage. Dante understands this. The Brain Gremlin agrees completely. Sometimes, you have to follow their example: accept the turmoil, commit your entire being into canned food and shotguns and try not to take things too seriously.

It’s powerful existential guidance from a most improbable origin – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will eternally stand as my comfort movie.