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“Well, it’s rather brutal here. Our recommendation is all of our clients to commit their entire holdings into tinned provisions and hunting rifles.” This nugget of wise counsel comes from the Brain Gremlin – a scientifically altered, articulate, spectacled member of the slimy Gremlin horde that swarms Manhattan’s high-tech Clamp Tower skyscraper in filmmaker Joe Dante’s madcap sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Superficially, it’s simply an investment tip from one monster to another. But, curiously, it’s also pretty solid life advice. Seriously, consider my perspective.

When situations deteriorate, the biggest mistake you can do is view events with undue solemnity. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. Actually, most of the dentally-gifted beasts that occupy Dante’s unrestrained 1990 movie (possibly his finest) possess the same knowing, self-referential comic sensibility regarding the blurry line separating the mundane and unadulterated chaos. It’s a particular aspect of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that maintains my loyalty – and the older I get, it’s the underlying idea that strikes the deepest chord.

An Early Life Fascination

Understandably, my attachment to this movie did not begin on such an introspective level. Growing up, we only had a few battered VHS tapes at home. Included within that collection were Gremlins and its second chapter, the latter housed in a chunky ex-rental box probably bought from an non-chain rental store and boasting grimacing beasts on its knackered cover. I was right away smitten and these films wasted no time inserting themselves inside my tiny, impressionable mind. Henceforth, they became an near-everyday part of my early years entertainment regimen.

Dante’s initial installment commonly garners all the plaudits, 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. That said, its successor rarely gets the same level of lofty appreciation, which feels criminal. As a kid, I’d never miss an opportunity to watch Gremlins 2. During bright summer vacations, I’d lock myself inside and play it. When I got my own TV-VHS combo unit, it remained on repeat in my bedroom. With repetition, it became deeply rooted in my psyche. If my parents detected this preoccupation, they didn’t seem to mind.

Hidden Rewards and Societal Easter Eggs

As I got older, new revelations enhanced frequent screenings, heightening the enjoyment of watching small emerald creatures gleefully trash a New York high-rise. I learned the forward-thinking development mogul 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) referencing his former spouse Marla Maples. Fortunately, Clamp has more heart than his real-life counterpart.

The “doomsday” video Clamp plays during the height of creature carnage? I discovered it was based on a actual “Doomsday” video produced by the CNN boss Ted Turner should the world truly faced apocalypse. I noticed how Dante took extra pains to film varying versions of a self-aware scene where Gremlins hijack the actual feature in progress. A version for theaters, a separate one for tape and broadcast, each offering a winking bit of self-referential entertainment sorcery prior to the concept being mainstream.

A Lasting Influence

While it was effects expert Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this subsurface richness maintained my fascination as an adult. In time, I even conversed with Dante about it myself and he had no qualms revealing to me he made the movie with the direct intention of mocking those who loved its absurd-yet-genuine predecessor and desired a sequel. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he happily revealed. This cartoonish rebelliousness and resolve to not take his sequel as gravely as his Warner Bros bosses clearly wanted him to, only made me love it even more.

When I experienced a unexpected loss in the family recently, I was astonished to realize that, during my most profound sorrow, all I desired to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Strange, isn’t it? Maybe not. The soothing reminiscence it furnished was necessary to dilute my mind’s sadness sludge – but the stuff it had bestowed upon me as an adult were similarly beneficial.

Like Gremlins rampaging through a genetics laboratory, there’s certain elements in life you just are powerless over. Dante knows it. The Brain Gremlin knows it too. Sometimes, you have to follow their example: embrace the chaos, put everything you’ve got into tinned provisions and hunting rifles and try not to view the world with undue solemnity.

It’s powerful existential guidance from a very unlikely source – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will eternally stand as my go-to cinematic solace.