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“Well, conditions are quite harsh here. We’re advising all of our clients to invest all their resources into canned food and shotguns.” That bit of sage advice comes from the Brain Gremlin – a lab-engineered, speaking, bespectacled member of the slick creature crowd that infests Manhattan’s ultra-modern Clamp Tower skyscraper in director Joe Dante’s madcap sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Superficially, it’s merely an portfolio pointer from one monster to another. Yet, oddly enough, it’s also pretty solid life guidance. Truly, hear me out.

When situations deteriorate, the biggest mistake you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin understands this. Actually, the majority of the toothy monsters that inhabit Dante’s chaotic 1990 feature (possibly his finest) possess the same knowing, self-referential comic sensibility regarding the blurry line separating everyday life and unadulterated chaos. It’s one element of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that ensures my return – and with the passage of time, it’s the theme that strikes the deepest chord.

A Childhood Obsession

Naturally, my fondness for this movie didn’t start on such an introspective level. As a child, we only had a few well-worn videocassettes at home. Among them were Gremlins and its follow-up, the latter housed in a chunky ex-rental box probably bought from an independent video outlet and sporting snarling creatures on its knackered cover. I was instantly captivated and these films quickly proceeded embedding themselves inside my small, malleable brain. After that point, they became an practically routine part of my early years entertainment regimen.

Dante’s original typically gets all the accolades, thanks largely to its legacy as a partly frightening holiday classic – and let me be clear, I’ve watched Gremlins more times than I can count. That said, its successor rarely gets the same level of high regard, which feels a travesty. 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 acquired my personal TV-VHS combo unit, it continued playing looped in my bedroom. Over time, it became deeply rooted in my mindset. If my parents detected this preoccupation, they didn’t seem to mind.

Hidden Delights and Societal Easter Eggs

As I got older, new understandings rewarded frequent screenings, elevating the fun of watching little green monsters joyously wreck a New York high-rise. I learned the forward-thinking real estate tycoon and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was based squarely upon the later-to-be-president Donald Trump, with his auburn-haired worker Marla (Haviland Morris) echoing his second wife Marla Maples. Luckily, Clamp demonstrates more humanity than his real-life counterpart.

The “doomsday” video Clamp plays during maximum monster mayhem? I discovered it was inspired by a real-life “Doomsday” video produced by the CNN boss Ted Turner in case the world actually met its demise. I noticed how Dante took extra pains to film alternate cuts of a self-aware scene where Gremlins take over the very film you’re watching. An edit for movie houses, another for home video and television, each providing a grinning portion of meta pop-culture magic ahead of its time.

A Persistent Appeal

While it was effects expert Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this deeper gold kept me hooked as an adult. Eventually, I even spoke to Dante about it myself and he had no reservations telling me he made the movie with the express purpose of mocking 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 happily revealed. This cartoonish rebelliousness and determination to not take his sequel as seriously as his Warner Bros bosses obviously desired, only deepened my appreciation further.

When I experienced a unexpected loss in the family earlier this year, I was astonished to realize that, during my heightest mourning, all I wanted to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Weird, right? Maybe not. The comforting familiarity it offered was necessary to thin out my mind’s mourning mire – but the stuff it had imparted to me as an adult were just as useful.

Like Gremlins running amok in a genetics laboratory, there’s particular aspects in life you just are powerless over. Dante understands this. The Brain Gremlin knows it too. Sometimes, you have to be like them: accept the turmoil, put everything you’ve got into canned food and shotguns and try not to approach life with excessive gravity.

It’s powerful existential guidance from a very unlikely source – and it’s why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will always be my feelgood film.