🔗 Share this article

“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. We’re advising all of our clients to commit their entire holdings into preserved goods and firearms.” This nugget of shrewd guidance comes from the Brain Gremlin – a scientifically altered, speaking, bespectacled member of the slick creature crowd that overruns Manhattan’s high-tech Clamp Tower skyscraper in director Joe Dante’s unhinged continuation Gremlins 2: The New Batch. On the surface, it’s merely an portfolio pointer from one monster to another. But, oddly enough, it’s also surprisingly sturdy existential counsel. Truly, listen to my reasoning.

When things go bad, the biggest mistake you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin comprehends this. Actually, most of the toothy monsters that inhabit Dante’s wild 1990 film (arguably his best) possess the same sly, self-aware comic sensibility regarding the blurry line separating daily routine and unadulterated chaos. It’s a single component of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that maintains my loyalty – and as I age, it’s the underlying idea that echoes the loudest.

A Youthful Fixation

Naturally, my fondness for this movie wasn’t born on such an philosophical plane. Growing up, we possessed merely a few scratched-up video tapes at home. Included within that collection were Gremlins and its sequel, the latter housed in a bulky previously-rented case probably bought from an off-brand video shop and featuring snarling creatures on its worn-out artwork. I was immediately enamoured and these films did not delay lodging themselves inside my young, susceptible psyche. Henceforth, they became an near-everyday part of my early years entertainment regimen.

Dante’s first film commonly garners all the praise, thanks mostly because of its status as a semi-scary seasonal fave – and to be fair, I’ve watched Gremlins an incalculable number of times. That said, its sequel rarely gets the same level of high regard, which feels a travesty. As a kid, I’d always seize the chance to watch Gremlins 2. During sunny school summer breaks, I’d retreat into the house and play it. When I got my own TV-VHS combo unit, it continued playing looped in my bedroom. Gradually, it ingrained itself in my mindset. If my parents detected this preoccupation, they appeared unbothered.

Deeper Discoveries and Cultural References

As I grew, new revelations enhanced multiple watches, amplifying the pleasure of watching small emerald creatures joyously wreck a New York high-rise. I learned the forward-thinking 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) referencing his former spouse Marla Maples. Thankfully, Clamp has more heart than his genuine article inspiration.

The “doomsday” video Clamp plays during the height of creature carnage? I discovered it was inspired by a real-life “Doomsday” video produced by the CNN boss Ted Turner as a contingency for the world really ended. I noticed how Dante made a special effort to film different iterations of a self-aware scene where Gremlins hijack the exact movie you are viewing. One for cinemas, one for VHS and TV, each providing a grinning portion of meta pop-culture magic ahead of its time.

A Persistent Appeal

While it was makeup maestro Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that caught my eye as a child, this hidden treasure held my interest as an adult. Ultimately, I even spoke to Dante about it myself and he had no hesitation informing me he made the movie with the direct intention of mocking those who loved its silly-yet-sincere predecessor and craved further installments. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he cheerfully disclosed. This cartoonish defiance and determination to not take his sequel as gravely as his Warner Bros bosses obviously desired, only made me love it even more.

When I endured a abrupt familial death not long ago, I was surprised to find that, during my deepest grief, all I wanted to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Strange, isn’t it? Perhaps not. The soothing reminiscence it furnished was essential to weaken my mind’s mourning mire – but the stuff it had bestowed upon me as an adult were just as useful.

Like Gremlins tearing apart a genetics laboratory, there’s particular aspects in life you just can’t control. Dante understands this. The Brain Gremlin knows it too. Sometimes, you have to follow their example: welcome the pandemonium, invest all your resources into preserved goods and firearms and try not to approach life with excessive gravity.

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