🔗 Share this article

“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. We’re advising all of our clients to invest all their resources into canned food and shotguns.” This nugget of wise counsel comes from the Brain Gremlin – a genetically modified, articulate, glasses-wearing member of the slick creature crowd that swarms Manhattan’s ultra-modern Clamp Tower skyscraper in helmer Joe Dante’s madcap sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. At first glance, it’s merely an financial suggestion from one monster to another. But, oddly enough, it’s also surprisingly sturdy existential counsel. Seriously, consider my perspective.

When life takes a turn for the worse, the biggest mistake you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. In fact, a large portion of the dentally-gifted beasts that occupy Dante’s chaotic 1990 feature (debateably his greatest) possess the same wry, meta sense of humour regarding the indistinct border separating the mundane and pure pandemonium. It’s a particular aspect of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that ensures my return – and the older I get, it’s the underlying idea that strikes the deepest chord.

An Early Life Fixation

Naturally, my connection with this movie didn’t start on such an philosophical plane. In my youth, we only had a few battered VHS tapes at home. Among them were Gremlins and its second chapter, the latter housed in a thick former-rental sleeve probably bought from an off-brand video shop and featuring growling monsters on its worn-out artwork. I was instantly captivated and these films wasted no time lodging themselves inside my young, susceptible psyche. From then on, they became an near-everyday part of my early years entertainment regimen.

Dante’s original commonly garners all the plaudits, thanks primarily due to its legacy as a partly frightening holiday classic – and to be fair, I’ve watched Gremlins more times than I can count. That said, its follow-up rarely gets the same level of elevated esteem, which feels a travesty. As a kid, I’d never miss an opportunity 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 stayed in constant rotation in my bedroom. Over time, it ingrained itself in my mindset. If my parents noticed this obsession, they appeared unbothered.

Hidden Delights and Pop-Culture References

As I got older, new insights enhanced repeat viewings, amplifying the pleasure of watching little green monsters gleefully trash a New York high-rise. I learned the future-focused real estate tycoon and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was based squarely upon the later-to-be-president Donald Trump, with his red-headed employee Marla (Haviland Morris) referencing his former spouse Marla Maples. Thankfully, Clamp has more heart than his real-life counterpart.

The “end of civilisation” video Clamp plays during the height of creature carnage? I discovered it was inspired by a actual “Doomsday” video commissioned by the CNN boss Ted Turner should the world really ended. I noticed how Dante went out of his way to film different iterations of a meta sequence where Gremlins hijack the very film you’re watching. An edit for movie houses, another for home video and television, each delivering a smirking slice of fourth-wall-breaking cultural alchemy ahead of its time.

A Persistent Influence

While it was creature designer Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this subsurface richness held my interest as an adult. Eventually, I even conversed with Dante about it myself and he had no reservations telling me he made the movie with the express purpose of poking fun at those who loved its goofy-but-heartfelt predecessor and craved further installments. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he happily revealed. This Looney Tunes-esque defiance and commitment to not take his sequel as seriously as his Warner Bros bosses evidently expected, only made me love it even more.

When I endured a abrupt familial death earlier this year, I was astonished to realize that, during my deepest grief, all I felt compelled to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Strange, isn’t it? Perhaps not. The soothing reminiscence it provided was essential to thin out my mind’s sadness sludge – but the stuff it had bestowed upon me as an adult were similarly beneficial.

Like Gremlins tearing apart a genetics laboratory, there’s particular aspects in life you just can’t control. Dante knows it. The Brain Gremlin agrees completely. Sometimes, you have to follow their example: embrace the chaos, put everything you’ve got into canned food and shotguns and try not to view the world with undue solemnity.

It’s strong life advice from a most improbable origin – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will forever remain my feelgood film.