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“Well, conditions are quite harsh here. Our recommendation is all of our clients to put everything they’ve got into canned food and shotguns.” This nugget of shrewd guidance comes from the Brain Gremlin – a lab-engineered, talking, spectacled member of the slimy Gremlin horde that infests Manhattan’s ultra-modern Clamp Tower skyscraper in director Joe Dante’s zany follow-up Gremlins 2: The New Batch. On the surface, it’s simply an investment tip from one monster to another. Yet, curiously, it’s also pretty solid life advice. Seriously, listen to my reasoning.

When things go bad, the most counterproductive action you can do is approach matters with excessive gravity. The Brain Gremlin understands this. Indeed, the majority of the toothy monsters that inhabit Dante’s unrestrained 1990 movie (debateably his greatest) possess the same sly, self-aware funny bone regarding the blurry line separating daily routine and pure pandemonium. It’s one element of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that ensures my return – and as I age, it’s the theme that echoes the loudest.

A Childhood Obsession

Naturally, my fondness for this movie didn’t start on such an philosophical plane. As a child, we were limited to a few scratched-up video tapes at home. Included within that collection were Gremlins and its sequel, the latter housed in a chunky ex-rental box almost certainly acquired from an off-brand video shop and sporting growling monsters on its worn-out artwork. I was right away smitten and these films did not delay lodging themselves inside my tiny, impressionable mind. Henceforth, they became an practically routine part of my youthful watching schedule.

Dante’s original commonly garners all the praise, thanks primarily due to its reputation as a moderately spooky festive favorite – and to be fair, I’ve watched Gremlins an incalculable number of times. However, its successor seldom receives the same level of lofty appreciation, which feels unjust. As a kid, I’d invariably jump at the prospect to watch Gremlins 2. During bright summer vacations, I’d retreat into the house and pop it in. When I obtained my very own TV-VHS combo unit, it remained on repeat in my bedroom. Over time, it etched itself permanently in my psyche. If my parents detected this preoccupation, they didn’t seem to mind.

Deeper Discoveries and Pop-Culture Nuggets

As I got older, new revelations rewarded repeat viewings, heightening the enjoyment of watching small emerald creatures gleefully trash a New York high-rise. I learned the forward-thinking development mogul and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was inspired directly by the eventual commander-in-chief Donald Trump, with his ginger staff member Marla (Haviland Morris) referencing his former spouse Marla Maples. Thankfully, Clamp possesses greater compassion than his real-life counterpart.

The “doomsday” video Clamp plays during peak-Gremlin chaos? I discovered it was modeled after a actual “Doomsday” video commissioned by the CNN boss Ted Turner should the world really ended. I noticed how Dante made a special effort to film different iterations of a self-referential segment where Gremlins seize control of the very film you’re watching. One for cinemas, one for VHS and TV, each providing a grinning portion of fourth-wall-breaking cultural alchemy prior to the concept being mainstream.

An Enduring Legacy

While it was creature designer Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that captured my attention as a child, this hidden treasure kept me hooked as an adult. Ultimately, I even interviewed Dante about it myself and he had no qualms revealing to me he made the movie with the direct intention of ridiculing those who loved its silly-yet-sincere predecessor and wanted more. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he happily revealed. This Looney Tunes-esque insubordination and resolve to not take his sequel as seriously as his Warner Bros bosses evidently expected, only increased my affection for it.

When I endured a abrupt familial death earlier this year, I was surprised to find that, during my heightest mourning, all I wanted to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Odd, no? Possibly not. The comforting familiarity it furnished was needed to thin out my mind’s sadness sludge – but the stuff it had given me as an adult were similarly beneficial.

Like Gremlins running amok in a genetics laboratory, there’s certain elements in life you just are powerless over. Dante understands this. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to emulate them: accept the turmoil, put everything you’ve got into tinned provisions and hunting rifles and try not to approach life with excessive gravity.

It’s powerful existential guidance from a most improbable origin – and it’s why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will forever remain my go-to cinematic solace.