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“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. The guidance we offer all of our clients to invest all their resources into preserved goods and firearms.” That bit of sage advice comes from the Brain Gremlin – a genetically modified, articulate, spectacled member of the slimy Gremlin horde that overruns Manhattan’s super-smart Clamp Tower skyscraper in filmmaker Joe Dante’s madcap sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Superficially, it’s simply an financial suggestion from one monster to another. But, oddly enough, it’s also remarkably sound life advice. Truly, hear me out.

When things go bad, the biggest mistake you can do is view events with undue solemnity. The Brain Gremlin understands this. In fact, a large portion of the fang-bearing creatures that inhabit Dante’s wild 1990 film (debateably his greatest) possess the same sly, self-aware funny bone regarding the hazy boundary separating everyday life and absolute bedlam. It’s a particular aspect of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that keeps me coming back – and with the passage of time, it’s the message that echoes the loudest.

An Early Life Obsession

Of course, my fondness for this movie didn’t start on such an philosophical plane. In my youth, we were limited to a few well-worn videocassettes at home. Among them were Gremlins and its sequel, the latter housed in a thick former-rental sleeve likely purchased from an non-chain rental store and sporting snarling creatures on its tattered front. I was instantly captivated and these films quickly proceeded lodging themselves inside my young, susceptible psyche. From then on, they became an practically routine part of my youthful watching schedule.

Dante’s original commonly garners all the plaudits, thanks mostly because of its status as a semi-scary seasonal fave – and let me be clear, I’ve watched Gremlins an incalculable number of times. However, its follow-up 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 seclude myself indoors and play it. When I obtained my very own TV-VHS combo unit, it continued playing looped in my bedroom. Gradually, it ingrained itself in my mindset. If my parents detected this preoccupation, they appeared unbothered.

Subtler Delights and Societal Easter Eggs

As I grew, new understandings enhanced multiple watches, heightening the enjoyment of watching little green monsters happily vandalize a New York high-rise. I learned the forward-thinking development mogul and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was inspired directly by the eventual commander-in-chief Donald Trump, with his red-headed employee Marla (Haviland Morris) echoing his second wife Marla Maples. Thankfully, Clamp has more heart than his real-life counterpart.

The “end of civilisation” video Clamp plays during peak-Gremlin chaos? I discovered it was based on a actual “Doomsday” video created by the CNN boss Ted Turner in case the world truly faced apocalypse. 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 offering a winking bit of self-referential entertainment sorcery ahead of its time.

A Lasting Influence

While it was makeup maestro Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that captured my attention as a child, this deeper gold kept me hooked as an adult. Ultimately, I even interviewed Dante about it myself and he had no reservations revealing to me he made the movie with the express purpose of poking fun at 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 gleefully confessed. This cartoonish defiance and commitment to not take his sequel as solemnly as his Warner Bros bosses clearly wanted him to, only deepened my appreciation further.

When I went through a abrupt familial death earlier this year, I was surprised to find that, during my deepest grief, all I desired to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Odd, no? Perhaps not. The nostalgic calm it offered was essential to weaken my mind’s grief morass – but the perspectives it had bestowed upon me as an adult were equally valuable.

Like Gremlins rampaging through a genetics laboratory, there’s particular aspects in life you just cannot manage. Dante is aware of it. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to be like them: embrace the chaos, commit your entire being into canned food and shotguns and try not to approach life with excessive gravity.

It’s strong life advice from a very unlikely source – and it’s why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will always be my comfort movie.