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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.” This nugget of sage advice comes from the Brain Gremlin – a scientifically altered, speaking, spectacled member of the oozy monster mob that overruns Manhattan’s high-tech Clamp Tower skyscraper in filmmaker Joe Dante’s madcap sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. On the surface, it’s merely an portfolio pointer from one monster to another. But, in a strange manner, it’s also pretty solid life advice. Seriously, listen to my reasoning.

When things go bad, the most counterproductive action you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. Actually, the majority of the dentally-gifted beasts that occupy Dante’s chaotic 1990 feature (possibly his finest) possess the same wry, meta comic sensibility regarding the hazy boundary separating everyday life 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 resonates the most.

A Youthful Obsession

Understandably, my fondness for this movie did not begin on such an introspective level. Growing up, 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 chunky ex-rental box almost certainly acquired from an independent video outlet and sporting snarling creatures on its worn-out artwork. I was right away smitten and these films did not delay embedding themselves inside my small, malleable brain. After that point, they became an almost-daily part of my childhood viewing routine.

Dante’s original commonly garners all the plaudits, thanks mostly because of its legacy as a semi-scary seasonal fave – and to be fair, I’ve watched Gremlins an incalculable number of times. Nevertheless, its sequel seldom receives the same level of elevated esteem, which feels criminal. As a kid, I’d always seize the chance to watch Gremlins 2. During long summer holidays, I’d lock myself inside and pop it in. When I acquired my personal TV-VHS combo unit, it continued playing looped in my bedroom. With repetition, it became deeply rooted in my psyche. If my parents noticed this obsession, they didn’t seem to mind.

Subtler Delights and Pop-Culture References

As I grew, new insights enriched frequent screenings, amplifying the pleasure of watching little green monsters happily vandalize a New York high-rise. I learned the ahead-of-its-time 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) alluding to his former spouse Marla Maples. Luckily, Clamp possesses greater compassion than his genuine article inspiration.

The “apocalyptic” video Clamp plays during maximum monster mayhem? I discovered it was modeled after a actual “Doomsday” video produced by the CNN boss Ted Turner in case the world really ended. I noticed how Dante took extra pains to film varying versions of a self-referential segment where Gremlins take over the actual feature in progress. An edit for movie houses, a separate one for tape and broadcast, each delivering a smirking slice of fourth-wall-breaking cultural alchemy prior to the concept being mainstream.

A Persistent Influence

While it was effects expert Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that captured my attention as a child, this hidden treasure maintained my fascination as an adult. Ultimately, I even spoke to Dante about it myself and he had no qualms informing me he made the movie with the direct intention of poking fun at 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 gleefully confessed. This anarchic rebelliousness 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 sudden family bereavement earlier this year, I was taken aback to discover that, during my deepest grief, all I felt compelled to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Weird, right? Maybe not. The nostalgic calm it offered was needed to thin out my mind’s mourning mire – but the insights it had bestowed upon me as an adult were similarly beneficial.

Like Gremlins running amok in a genetics laboratory, there’s particular aspects in life you just cannot manage. Dante is aware of it. The Brain Gremlin agrees completely. Sometimes, you have to follow their example: welcome the pandemonium, invest all your resources into canned food and shotguns and try not to take things too seriously.

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