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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.” That bit of sage advice comes from the Brain Gremlin – a scientifically altered, articulate, bespectacled member of the slimy Gremlin horde 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 simply an portfolio pointer from one monster to another. But, oddly enough, it’s also remarkably sound life advice. Seriously, consider my perspective.

When things go bad, the biggest mistake you can do is approach matters with excessive gravity. The Brain Gremlin understands this. In fact, a large portion of the dentally-gifted beasts that inhabit Dante’s chaotic 1990 feature (debateably his greatest) possess the same knowing, self-referential 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 message that echoes the loudest.

An Early Life Obsession

Naturally, my fondness for this movie wasn’t born on such an philosophical plane. As a child, we possessed merely a few battered VHS tapes at home. Among them were Gremlins and its follow-up, the latter housed in a thick former-rental sleeve likely purchased from an non-chain rental store and sporting growling monsters on its worn-out artwork. I was instantly captivated and these films wasted no time lodging themselves inside my small, malleable brain. Henceforth, they became an almost-daily part of my childhood viewing routine.

Dante’s first film commonly garners all the plaudits, thanks largely to its legacy as a partly frightening holiday classic – and don’t get me wrong, I’ve watched Gremlins more times than I can count. Nevertheless, its sequel rarely gets the same level of elevated esteem, which feels criminal. As a kid, I’d never miss an opportunity to watch Gremlins 2. During sunny school summer breaks, I’d lock myself inside and stick it on. When I obtained my very own TV-VHS combo unit, it stayed in constant rotation in my bedroom. Over time, it became deeply rooted in my mental framework. If my parents observed this fixation, they appeared unbothered.

Hidden Discoveries and Pop-Culture Easter Eggs

As I grew, new insights rewarded multiple watches, amplifying the pleasure of watching diminutive verdant beasts gleefully trash a New York high-rise. I learned the forward-thinking development mogul and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was modeled closely on future president Donald Trump, with his auburn-haired worker Marla (Haviland Morris) echoing his second wife Marla Maples. Luckily, Clamp demonstrates more humanity than his genuine article inspiration.

The “apocalyptic” video Clamp plays during the height of creature carnage? I discovered it was based on a genuine “Doomsday” video commissioned by the CNN boss Ted Turner in case the world really ended. I noticed how Dante went out of his way to film varying versions of a self-aware scene where Gremlins take over the very film you’re watching. One for cinemas, one for VHS and TV, each providing a grinning portion of self-referential entertainment sorcery ahead of its time.

An Enduring Influence

While it was creature designer Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this hidden treasure maintained my fascination as an adult. Eventually, I even conversed with Dante about it myself and he had no qualms informing me he made the movie with the specific aim of ridiculing those who loved its silly-yet-sincere predecessor and desired a sequel. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he gleefully confessed. This cartoonish insubordination and commitment to not take his sequel as solemnly as his Warner Bros bosses evidently expected, only made me love it even more.

When I endured a unexpected loss in the family recently, I was surprised to find 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 comforting familiarity it offered was essential to weaken my mind’s grief morass – but the insights it had given me as an adult were equally valuable.

Like Gremlins tearing apart a genetics laboratory, there’s some things in life you just are powerless over. Dante is aware of it. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to emulate them: embrace the chaos, commit your entire being into canned food and shotguns and try not to view the world with undue solemnity.

It’s powerful existential guidance from a very unlikely source – and it’s why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will always be my go-to cinematic solace.