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“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. The guidance we offer 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 scientifically altered, talking, glasses-wearing member of the oozy monster mob that swarms Manhattan’s super-smart Clamp Tower skyscraper in director Joe Dante’s madcap sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. On the surface, it’s simply an portfolio pointer from one monster to another. But, oddly enough, it’s also surprisingly sturdy life guidance. Truly, hear me out.

When life takes a turn for the worse, the most counterproductive action you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin understands this. Actually, a large portion of the dentally-gifted beasts that occupy Dante’s unrestrained 1990 movie (arguably his best) possess the same knowing, self-referential funny bone regarding the indistinct border separating daily routine and absolute bedlam. It’s a single component of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that maintains my loyalty – and with the passage of time, it’s the theme that strikes the deepest chord.

A Youthful Obsession

Naturally, my attachment to this movie did not begin on such an philosophical plane. As a child, we only had a few scratched-up video tapes at home. Part of that group were Gremlins and its follow-up, the latter housed in a bulky previously-rented case likely purchased from an independent video outlet and boasting growling monsters on its knackered cover. I was right away smitten and these films did not delay embedding themselves inside my small, malleable brain. After that point, they became an almost-daily part of my childhood viewing routine.

Dante’s original usually receives all the plaudits, thanks primarily due to its status as a semi-scary seasonal fave – and to be fair, I’ve watched Gremlins an incalculable number of times. Nevertheless, its successor infrequently obtains the same level of high regard, which feels unjust. As a kid, I’d always seize the chance to watch Gremlins 2. During long summer holidays, I’d retreat into the house and pop it in. When I got my own TV-VHS combo unit, it continued playing looped in my bedroom. With repetition, it became deeply rooted in my psyche. If my parents observed this fixation, they appeared unbothered.

Subtler Discoveries and Pop-Culture Easter Eggs

As I grew, new insights enriched repeat viewings, elevating the fun of watching diminutive verdant beasts happily vandalize a New York high-rise. I learned the future-focused property magnate and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was based squarely upon the eventual commander-in-chief Donald Trump, with his ginger staff member Marla (Haviland Morris) echoing his former spouse Marla Maples. Luckily, Clamp has more heart than his genuine article inspiration.

The “doomsday” video Clamp plays during peak-Gremlin chaos? I discovered it was inspired by a actual “Doomsday” video commissioned by the CNN boss Ted Turner as a contingency for the world actually met its demise. I noticed how Dante went out of his way to film varying versions of a self-referential segment where Gremlins take over the exact movie you are viewing. An edit for movie houses, another for home video and television, each offering a winking bit of fourth-wall-breaking cultural alchemy ahead of its time.

An Enduring Legacy

While it was creature designer Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that caught my eye as a child, this deeper gold maintained my fascination as an adult. Ultimately, I even spoke to Dante about it myself and he had no qualms informing me he made the movie with the direct intention of ridiculing 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 cheerfully disclosed. This anarchic rebelliousness and resolve to not take his sequel as gravely as his Warner Bros bosses evidently expected, only made me love it even more.

When I went through a unexpected loss in the family recently, I was astonished to realize that, during my heightest mourning, all I desired to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Weird, right? Perhaps not. The comforting familiarity it furnished was needed to thin out my mind’s sadness sludge – but the insights it had given me as an adult were similarly beneficial.

Like Gremlins tearing apart a genetics laboratory, there’s some things in life you just can’t control. Dante is aware of it. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to emulate them: accept the turmoil, commit your entire being into tinned provisions and hunting rifles and try not to take things too seriously.

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