🔗 Share this article

“Well, it’s rather brutal here. Our recommendation is all of our clients to put everything they’ve got into tinned provisions and hunting rifles.” This nugget of shrewd guidance comes from the Brain Gremlin – a lab-engineered, articulate, bespectacled member of the oozy monster mob that swarms Manhattan’s ultra-modern Clamp Tower skyscraper in director 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 life guidance. Seriously, hear me out.

When situations deteriorate, the most counterproductive action you can do is approach matters with excessive gravity. The Brain Gremlin understands this. Actually, a large portion of the fang-bearing creatures that occupy Dante’s wild 1990 film (possibly his finest) possess the same wry, meta comic sensibility regarding the hazy boundary separating daily routine and pure pandemonium. It’s a particular aspect of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that keeps me coming back – and the older I get, it’s the theme that strikes the deepest chord.

A Youthful Obsession

Naturally, my attachment to this movie wasn’t born on such an deeply thoughtful note. As a child, we only had a few well-worn videocassettes at home. Among them were Gremlins and its sequel, the latter housed in a thick former-rental sleeve probably bought from an independent video outlet and sporting snarling creatures on its knackered cover. I was immediately enamoured and these films wasted no time inserting themselves inside my tiny, impressionable mind. Henceforth, they became an almost-daily part of my early years entertainment regimen.

Dante’s initial installment usually receives all the accolades, thanks largely to its legacy as a partly frightening holiday classic – and to be fair, I’ve watched Gremlins an incalculable number of times. Nevertheless, its successor seldom receives the same level of lofty appreciation, which feels unjust. As a kid, I’d never miss an opportunity to watch Gremlins 2. During sunny school summer breaks, I’d retreat into the house and play it. When I obtained my very own TV-VHS combo unit, it stayed in constant rotation in my bedroom. Gradually, it ingrained itself in my mindset. If my parents noticed this obsession, they didn’t seem to mind.

Hidden Discoveries and Societal Nuggets

As I grew, new understandings rewarded repeat viewings, amplifying the pleasure of watching small emerald creatures happily vandalize a New York high-rise. I learned the forward-thinking property magnate and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was modeled closely on future president Donald Trump, with his auburn-haired worker Marla (Haviland Morris) referencing his one-time partner Marla Maples. Thankfully, Clamp has more heart than his actual-world equivalent.

The “end of civilisation” video Clamp plays during maximum monster mayhem? I discovered it was modeled after a real-life “Doomsday” video created by the CNN boss Ted Turner as a contingency for the world actually met its demise. I noticed how Dante took extra pains to film alternate cuts of a meta sequence where Gremlins seize control of the actual feature in progress. A version for theaters, a separate one for tape and broadcast, each offering a winking bit of meta pop-culture magic ahead of its time.

A Lasting Influence

While it was effects expert Rick Baker’s wonderfully grotesque creatures that caught my eye as a child, this subsurface richness held my interest as an adult. Ultimately, I even conversed with Dante about it myself and he had no hesitation informing me he made the movie with the specific aim of mocking those who loved its goofy-but-heartfelt predecessor and desired a sequel. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he cheerfully disclosed. This anarchic rebelliousness and determination to not take his sequel as gravely as his Warner Bros bosses evidently expected, only deepened my appreciation further.

When I went through a abrupt familial death recently, I was astonished to realize that, during my most profound sorrow, all I felt compelled to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Weird, right? Possibly not. The comforting familiarity it offered was needed to thin out my mind’s grief morass – but the insights it had imparted to me as an adult were equally valuable.

Like Gremlins running amok in a genetics laboratory, there’s particular aspects in life you just are powerless over. Dante knows it. The Brain Gremlin knows it too. Sometimes, you have to be like them: accept the turmoil, put everything you’ve got into canned food and shotguns and try not to approach life with excessive gravity.

It’s powerful existential guidance from a most improbable origin – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will eternally stand as my comfort movie.