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“Well, it’s rather brutal here. The guidance we offer all of our clients to commit their entire holdings into preserved goods and firearms.” That bit of sage advice comes from the Brain Gremlin – a genetically modified, articulate, spectacled member of the slick creature crowd that infests Manhattan’s ultra-modern Clamp Tower skyscraper in filmmaker Joe Dante’s madcap sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. At first glance, it’s simply an investment tip from one monster to another. But, oddly enough, it’s also remarkably sound existential counsel. Honestly, consider my perspective.

When situations deteriorate, the most counterproductive action you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. Indeed, most of the fang-bearing creatures that inhabit Dante’s chaotic 1990 feature (debateably his greatest) possess the same wry, meta funny bone regarding the blurry line separating everyday life and absolute bedlam. It’s a single component of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that ensures my return – and the older I get, it’s the theme that echoes the loudest.

A Youthful Fascination

Of course, my attachment to this movie didn’t start on such an deeply thoughtful note. As a child, we only had a few scratched-up video tapes at home. Among them were Gremlins and its sequel, the latter housed in a thick former-rental sleeve probably bought from an non-chain rental store and boasting grimacing beasts on its tattered front. I was right away smitten and these films did not delay lodging themselves inside my tiny, impressionable mind. From then on, they became an near-everyday part of my early years entertainment regimen.

Dante’s first film usually receives all the plaudits, thanks primarily due to its legacy as a moderately spooky festive favorite – and don’t get me wrong, I’ve watched Gremlins an incalculable number of times. However, its follow-up infrequently obtains the same level of elevated esteem, which feels criminal. As a kid, I’d always seize the chance to watch Gremlins 2. During bright summer vacations, I’d seclude myself indoors and play it. When I got my own TV-VHS combo unit, it continued playing looped in my bedroom. With repetition, it became deeply rooted in my mindset. If my parents noticed this obsession, they gave no indication of concern.

Hidden Rewards and Pop-Culture Nuggets

As I matured, new revelations rewarded frequent screenings, amplifying the pleasure of watching small emerald creatures gleefully trash a New York high-rise. I learned the forward-thinking property magnate and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was inspired directly by the later-to-be-president Donald Trump, with his red-headed employee Marla (Haviland Morris) alluding to his second wife Marla Maples. Thankfully, Clamp has more heart than his actual-world equivalent.

The “apocalyptic” video Clamp plays during the height of creature carnage? I discovered it was inspired by a real-life “Doomsday” video created by the CNN boss Ted Turner should the world actually met its demise. I noticed how Dante took extra pains to film varying versions of a self-aware scene where Gremlins seize control of the actual feature in progress. An edit for movie houses, one for VHS and TV, each offering a winking bit of self-referential entertainment sorcery before the term was even a thing.

A Lasting Influence

While it was makeup maestro Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this deeper gold held my interest as an adult. Eventually, I even spoke to Dante about it myself and he had no qualms informing me he made the movie with the specific aim of poking fun at 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 rebelliousness and determination to not take his sequel as solemnly as his Warner Bros bosses evidently expected, only deepened my appreciation further.

When I experienced a abrupt familial death earlier this year, I was taken aback to discover that, during my deepest grief, all I desired to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Odd, no? Possibly not. The comforting familiarity it furnished was necessary to dilute my mind’s sadness sludge – but the perspectives it had imparted to me as an adult were similarly beneficial.

Like Gremlins rampaging through a genetics laboratory, there’s particular aspects in life you just can’t control. Dante knows it. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to follow their example: embrace the chaos, commit your entire being into preserved goods and firearms and try not to view the world with undue solemnity.

It’s robust worldly wisdom from a very unlikely source – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will eternally stand as my feelgood film.