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“Well, conditions are quite harsh here. Our recommendation is all of our clients to commit their entire holdings into preserved goods and firearms.” This nugget of wise counsel comes from the Brain Gremlin – a scientifically altered, talking, bespectacled member of the oozy monster mob that overruns Manhattan’s super-smart Clamp Tower skyscraper in helmer Joe Dante’s madcap sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. At first glance, it’s nothing more than an portfolio pointer from one monster to another. But, in a strange manner, it’s also pretty solid existential counsel. Honestly, listen to my reasoning.

When things go bad, the most counterproductive action you can do is approach matters with excessive gravity. The Brain Gremlin comprehends this. Actually, the majority of the fang-bearing creatures that populate Dante’s chaotic 1990 feature (arguably his best) possess the same knowing, self-referential comic sensibility regarding the indistinct border separating the mundane and absolute bedlam. It’s a particular aspect of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that maintains my loyalty – and as I age, it’s the theme that echoes the loudest.

A Youthful Obsession

Understandably, my fondness for this movie wasn’t born on such an deeply thoughtful note. In my youth, we were limited to a few scratched-up video tapes at home. Among them were Gremlins and its second chapter, the latter housed in a thick former-rental sleeve almost certainly acquired from an independent video outlet and sporting snarling creatures on its knackered cover. I was right away smitten and these films quickly proceeded embedding themselves inside my tiny, impressionable mind. From then on, they became an almost-daily part of my youthful watching schedule.

Dante’s initial installment typically gets all the plaudits, thanks primarily due to its status as a semi-scary seasonal fave – and don’t get me wrong, I’ve watched Gremlins on countless occasions. Nevertheless, its follow-up infrequently obtains the same level of high regard, which feels unjust. As a kid, I’d invariably jump at the prospect to watch Gremlins 2. During sunny school summer breaks, I’d seclude myself indoors and play it. When I obtained my very own TV-VHS combo unit, it remained on repeat in my bedroom. Over time, it etched itself permanently in my psyche. If my parents observed this fixation, they appeared unbothered.

Hidden Discoveries and Pop-Culture Easter Eggs

As I got older, new revelations rewarded frequent screenings, elevating the fun of watching little green monsters gleefully trash a New York high-rise. I learned the future-focused development mogul and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was modeled closely on the later-to-be-president Donald Trump, with his red-headed employee Marla (Haviland Morris) alluding to his one-time partner Marla Maples. Fortunately, Clamp demonstrates more humanity than his real-life counterpart.

The “apocalyptic” video Clamp plays during peak-Gremlin chaos? I discovered it was based on a genuine “Doomsday” video created by the CNN boss Ted Turner in case the world really ended. I noticed how Dante went out of his way to film alternate cuts of a meta sequence where Gremlins take over the very film you’re watching. A version for theaters, another for home video and television, each providing a grinning portion of self-referential entertainment sorcery prior to the concept being mainstream.

A Persistent Appeal

While it was makeup maestro Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this hidden treasure kept me hooked as an adult. Eventually, I even interviewed Dante about it myself and he had no hesitation 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 gleefully confessed. This Looney Tunes-esque defiance and determination to not take his sequel as gravely as his Warner Bros bosses obviously desired, only deepened my appreciation further.

When I experienced a abrupt familial death earlier this year, I was taken aback to discover that, during my most profound sorrow, all I desired to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Weird, right? Possibly not. The nostalgic calm it offered was necessary to weaken my mind’s grief morass – but the stuff it had imparted to me as an adult were equally valuable.

Like Gremlins tearing apart a genetics laboratory, there’s some things in life you just can’t control. Dante is aware of it. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to be like them: accept the turmoil, commit your entire being into preserved goods and firearms and try not to view the world with undue solemnity.

It’s powerful existential guidance from a highly unexpected fountain – and it’s why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will always be my feelgood film.