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“Well, conditions are quite harsh here. We’re advising all of our clients to invest all their resources into preserved goods and firearms.” This nugget of shrewd guidance comes from the Brain Gremlin – a lab-engineered, speaking, bespectacled member of the slick creature crowd that overruns Manhattan’s super-smart Clamp Tower skyscraper in filmmaker Joe Dante’s madcap sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. On the surface, it’s nothing more than 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 situations deteriorate, the worst thing you can do is view events with undue solemnity. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. In fact, most of the dentally-gifted beasts that populate Dante’s unrestrained 1990 movie (arguably his best) possess the same wry, meta sense of humour regarding the blurry line 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 echoes the loudest.

An Early Life Fascination

Naturally, my attachment to this movie did not begin on such an introspective level. As a child, we possessed merely a few well-worn videocassettes at home. Part of that group were Gremlins and its follow-up, the latter housed in a chunky ex-rental box probably bought from an non-chain rental store and featuring grimacing beasts on its worn-out artwork. I was instantly captivated and these films quickly proceeded inserting themselves inside my tiny, impressionable mind. Henceforth, they became an almost-daily part of my youthful watching schedule.

Dante’s first film typically gets all the praise, thanks largely to its reputation 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 unjust. As a kid, I’d never miss an opportunity to watch Gremlins 2. During bright summer vacations, I’d seclude myself indoors and play it. When I got my own TV-VHS combo unit, it continued playing looped in my bedroom. With repetition, it ingrained itself in my psyche. If my parents detected this preoccupation, they appeared unbothered.

Hidden Rewards and Cultural Nuggets

As I got older, new understandings rewarded repeat viewings, elevating the fun of watching small emerald creatures happily vandalize a New York high-rise. I learned the future-focused real estate tycoon and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was inspired directly by the eventual commander-in-chief Donald Trump, with his auburn-haired worker Marla (Haviland Morris) alluding to his one-time partner Marla Maples. Fortunately, Clamp possesses greater compassion than his genuine article inspiration.

The “end of civilisation” video Clamp plays during peak-Gremlin chaos? I discovered it was inspired by a real-life “Doomsday” video commissioned by the CNN boss Ted Turner as a contingency for the world actually met its demise. I noticed how Dante went out of his way to film alternate cuts of a self-aware scene where Gremlins take over the very film you’re watching. A version for theaters, a separate one for tape and broadcast, each providing a grinning portion of meta pop-culture magic prior to the concept being mainstream.

A Lasting Legacy

While it was makeup maestro Rick Baker’s wonderfully grotesque creatures that caught my eye as a child, this hidden treasure kept me hooked as an adult. In time, I even spoke to Dante about it myself and he had no reservations informing me he made the movie with the direct intention of poking fun at those who loved its goofy-but-heartfelt predecessor and wanted more. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he happily revealed. This cartoonish rebelliousness and commitment to not take his sequel as solemnly as his Warner Bros bosses clearly wanted him to, only made me love it even more.

When I experienced a sudden family bereavement not long ago, I was astonished to realize that, during my deepest grief, all I wanted to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Weird, right? Maybe not. The nostalgic calm it provided was needed to dilute my mind’s sadness sludge – 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 can’t control. Dante knows it. The Brain Gremlin knows it too. Sometimes, you have to follow their example: accept the turmoil, commit your entire being into tinned provisions and hunting rifles and try not to take things too seriously.

It’s robust worldly wisdom from a very unlikely source – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will always be my feelgood film.