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“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. We’re advising all of our clients to commit their entire holdings into tinned provisions and hunting rifles.” That bit of wise counsel comes from the Brain Gremlin – a scientifically altered, talking, spectacled member of the oozy monster mob that infests Manhattan’s super-smart Clamp Tower skyscraper in filmmaker Joe Dante’s unhinged continuation Gremlins 2: The New Batch. On the surface, it’s simply an investment tip from one monster to another. However, oddly enough, it’s also remarkably sound life guidance. Seriously, hear me out.

When things go bad, the most counterproductive action you can do is view events with undue solemnity. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. Actually, most of the dentally-gifted beasts that inhabit Dante’s chaotic 1990 feature (arguably his best) possess the same knowing, self-referential comic sensibility regarding the hazy boundary separating daily routine and unadulterated chaos. It’s a single component of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that maintains my loyalty – and with the passage of time, it’s the message that strikes the deepest chord.

A Childhood Fascination

Naturally, my attachment to this movie didn’t start on such an introspective level. Growing up, we only had a few scratched-up video tapes at home. Part of that group were Gremlins and its sequel, the latter housed in a thick former-rental sleeve almost certainly acquired from an non-chain rental store and featuring grimacing beasts on its worn-out artwork. I was instantly captivated and these films wasted no time lodging themselves inside my tiny, impressionable mind. From then on, they became an almost-daily part of my childhood viewing routine.

Dante’s original commonly garners all the praise, thanks primarily due to its status as a moderately spooky festive favorite – and don’t get me wrong, I’ve watched Gremlins an incalculable number of times. That said, its follow-up rarely gets the same level of lofty appreciation, which feels a travesty. As a kid, I’d invariably jump at the prospect to watch Gremlins 2. During bright summer vacations, I’d retreat into the house and play it. When I acquired my personal TV-VHS combo unit, it remained on repeat in my bedroom. Over time, it etched itself permanently in my psyche. If my parents noticed this obsession, they appeared unbothered.

Hidden Rewards and Societal References

As I got older, new insights enhanced multiple watches, heightening the enjoyment of watching little green monsters joyously wreck a New York high-rise. I learned the future-focused real estate tycoon and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was modeled closely on the later-to-be-president Donald Trump, with his auburn-haired worker Marla (Haviland Morris) alluding to his former spouse Marla Maples. Thankfully, Clamp demonstrates more humanity than his actual-world equivalent.

The “doomsday” video Clamp plays during peak-Gremlin chaos? I discovered it was modeled after a actual “Doomsday” video commissioned 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 hijack the very film you’re watching. A version for theaters, one for VHS and TV, each delivering a smirking slice of fourth-wall-breaking cultural alchemy ahead of its time.

A Lasting Legacy

While it was makeup maestro Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this subsurface richness kept me hooked as an adult. Ultimately, I even spoke to Dante about it myself and he had no hesitation informing me he made the movie with the specific aim of mocking 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 gleefully confessed. This Looney Tunes-esque insubordination and resolve to not take his sequel as seriously as his Warner Bros bosses evidently expected, only increased my affection for it.

When I experienced a unexpected loss in the family not long ago, I was surprised to find that, during my heightest mourning, all I wanted to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Weird, right? Perhaps not. The comforting familiarity it furnished was necessary to dilute my mind’s mourning mire – but the insights it had given me as an adult were just as useful.

Like Gremlins rampaging through a genetics laboratory, there’s some things in life you just cannot manage. Dante knows 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 approach life with excessive gravity.

It’s powerful existential guidance from a highly unexpected fountain – and it’s why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will eternally stand as my go-to cinematic solace.