🔗 Share this article

“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. Our recommendation is all of our clients to commit their entire holdings into preserved goods and firearms.” This piece of wise counsel comes from the Brain Gremlin – a lab-engineered, articulate, glasses-wearing member of the slimy Gremlin horde that overruns Manhattan’s high-tech Clamp Tower skyscraper in director Joe Dante’s unhinged continuation Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Superficially, it’s merely an investment tip from one monster to another. However, in a strange manner, it’s also remarkably sound existential counsel. Seriously, hear me out.

When life takes a turn for the worse, the most counterproductive action you can do is view events with undue solemnity. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. In fact, the majority of the fang-bearing creatures that populate Dante’s wild 1990 film (arguably his best) possess the same knowing, self-referential sense of humour regarding the indistinct border separating the mundane and unadulterated chaos. It’s a particular aspect of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that ensures my return – and as I age, it’s the message that resonates the most.

A Childhood Fixation

Naturally, my connection with this movie wasn’t born on such an deeply thoughtful note. As a child, we possessed merely a few well-worn videocassettes at home. Among them were Gremlins and its sequel, the latter housed in a chunky ex-rental box likely purchased from an independent video outlet and boasting growling monsters on its knackered cover. I was right away smitten and these films quickly proceeded inserting themselves inside my small, malleable brain. After that point, they became an almost-daily part of my youthful watching schedule.

Dante’s original commonly garners all the praise, thanks primarily due to its status as a moderately spooky festive favorite – and let me be clear, I’ve watched Gremlins more times than I can count. Nevertheless, its successor seldom receives the same level of elevated esteem, which feels unjust. As a kid, I’d always seize the chance to watch Gremlins 2. During bright summer vacations, I’d lock myself inside and stick it on. When I acquired my personal TV-VHS combo unit, it remained on repeat in my bedroom. Gradually, it ingrained itself in my mindset. If my parents detected this preoccupation, they appeared unbothered.

Deeper Rewards and Societal References

As I matured, new revelations rewarded multiple watches, heightening the enjoyment 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 modeled closely on the eventual commander-in-chief Donald Trump, with his auburn-haired worker Marla (Haviland Morris) referencing his second wife Marla Maples. Thankfully, Clamp possesses greater compassion 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 should the world actually met its demise. I noticed how Dante took extra pains to film alternate cuts of a meta sequence where Gremlins hijack the exact movie you are viewing. A version for theaters, one for VHS and TV, each delivering a smirking slice of fourth-wall-breaking cultural alchemy ahead of its time.

An Enduring Legacy

While it was effects expert Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that captured my attention as a child, this deeper gold held my interest as an adult. Eventually, I even conversed with Dante about it myself and he had no qualms telling me he made the movie with the express purpose of mocking 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 cheerfully disclosed. This Looney Tunes-esque insubordination and determination to not take his sequel as seriously as his Warner Bros bosses evidently expected, only made me love it even more.

When I went through a abrupt familial death not long ago, I was astonished to realize that, during my most profound sorrow, all I felt compelled to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Odd, no? Perhaps not. The comforting familiarity it provided was needed to dilute my mind’s mourning mire – but the insights it had given me as an adult were equally valuable.

Like Gremlins tearing apart a genetics laboratory, there’s particular aspects in life you just are powerless over. Dante is aware of it. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to emulate them: embrace the chaos, invest all your resources into tinned provisions and hunting rifles and try not to take things too seriously.

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