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“Well, conditions are quite harsh here. The guidance we offer all of our clients to invest all their resources into canned food and shotguns.” That bit of sage advice comes from the Brain Gremlin – a genetically modified, talking, bespectacled member of the slick creature crowd that swarms Manhattan’s super-smart Clamp Tower skyscraper in director Joe Dante’s zany follow-up Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Superficially, it’s simply an investment tip from one monster to another. But, in a strange manner, it’s also surprisingly sturdy existential counsel. Honestly, listen to my reasoning.

When situations deteriorate, the worst thing you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. Actually, the majority of the toothy monsters that occupy Dante’s unrestrained 1990 movie (arguably his best) possess the same wry, meta funny bone regarding the blurry line separating everyday life and pure pandemonium. It’s one element of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that keeps me coming back – and with the passage of time, it’s the message that resonates the most.

A Youthful Obsession

Understandably, my fondness for this movie didn’t start on such an deeply thoughtful note. Growing up, we were limited to a few well-worn videocassettes at home. Among them were Gremlins and its sequel, the latter housed in a chunky ex-rental box likely purchased from an non-chain rental store and boasting snarling creatures on its tattered front. I was immediately enamoured and these films quickly proceeded inserting themselves inside my small, malleable brain. Henceforth, they became an almost-daily part of my youthful watching schedule.

Dante’s first film commonly garners all the accolades, thanks mostly because of its legacy as a moderately spooky festive favorite – and don’t get me wrong, I’ve watched Gremlins on countless occasions. That said, its successor seldom receives the same level of high regard, which feels a travesty. As a kid, I’d invariably jump at the prospect to watch Gremlins 2. During bright summer vacations, I’d lock myself inside and stick it on. 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 observed this fixation, they didn’t seem to mind.

Hidden Rewards and Pop-Culture References

As I grew, new understandings enhanced multiple watches, elevating the fun of watching diminutive verdant beasts joyously wreck a New York high-rise. I learned the ahead-of-its-time property magnate and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was modeled closely on future president Donald Trump, with his red-headed employee Marla (Haviland Morris) alluding to his former spouse Marla Maples. Fortunately, Clamp has more heart than his genuine article inspiration.

The “apocalyptic” video Clamp plays during peak-Gremlin chaos? I discovered it was inspired by a actual “Doomsday” video produced by the CNN boss Ted Turner as a contingency for the world truly faced apocalypse. I noticed how Dante made a special effort to film varying versions of a self-aware scene where Gremlins seize control of the exact movie you are viewing. An edit for movie houses, another for home video and television, each delivering a smirking slice of meta pop-culture magic before the term was even a thing.

A Persistent Legacy

While it was makeup maestro Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this hidden treasure maintained my fascination as an adult. Eventually, I even spoke to Dante about it myself and he had no qualms telling me he made the movie with the specific aim of ridiculing 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 cheerfully disclosed. This anarchic 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 experienced a sudden family bereavement earlier this year, I was surprised to find that, during my heightest mourning, all I felt compelled to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Odd, no? Possibly not. The soothing reminiscence it offered was necessary to weaken my mind’s mourning mire – but the insights it had bestowed upon me as an adult were equally valuable.

Like Gremlins running amok in a genetics laboratory, there’s particular aspects in life you just can’t control. Dante understands this. The Brain Gremlin agrees completely. Sometimes, you have to be like them: welcome the pandemonium, put everything you’ve got into canned food and shotguns and try not to approach life with excessive gravity.

It’s strong life advice from a very unlikely source – and it’s why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will eternally stand as my comfort movie.