Imprinted in My Psyche’: The Reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch Is My Feelgood Movie

“Well, conditions are quite harsh here. Our recommendation is all of our clients to commit their entire holdings into preserved goods and firearms.” This piece of wise counsel comes from the Brain Gremlin – a lab-engineered, talking, bespectacled member of the slimy Gremlin horde that infests Manhattan’s high-tech Clamp Tower skyscraper in filmmaker Joe Dante’s unhinged continuation Gremlins 2: The New Batch. At first glance, it’s merely an investment tip from one monster to another. However, in a strange manner, it’s also surprisingly sturdy existential counsel. Truly, consider my perspective.

When situations deteriorate, the worst thing you can do is approach matters with excessive gravity. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. In fact, the majority of the fang-bearing creatures that occupy Dante’s chaotic 1990 feature (possibly his finest) possess the same knowing, self-referential comic sensibility regarding the indistinct border separating everyday life and absolute bedlam. It’s one element of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that keeps me coming back – and with the passage of time, it’s the underlying idea that resonates the most.

A Youthful Obsession

Of course, my connection with this movie wasn’t born on such an philosophical plane. Growing up, 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 likely purchased from an non-chain rental store and boasting snarling creatures on its worn-out artwork. I was instantly captivated and these films did not delay embedding themselves inside my tiny, impressionable mind. From then on, they became an almost-daily part of my childhood viewing routine.

Dante’s original typically gets all the plaudits, thanks mostly because of its status as a partly frightening holiday classic – and to be fair, I’ve watched Gremlins more times than I can count. That said, its sequel rarely gets the same level of lofty appreciation, which feels a travesty. As a kid, I’d invariably jump at the prospect to watch Gremlins 2. During long summer holidays, I’d seclude myself indoors and pop it in. When I acquired my personal TV-VHS combo unit, it stayed in constant rotation in my bedroom. With repetition, it ingrained itself in my psyche. If my parents observed this fixation, they gave no indication of concern.

Subtler Rewards and Societal Nuggets

As I grew, new understandings enhanced frequent screenings, heightening the enjoyment of watching little green monsters joyously wreck a New York high-rise. I learned the future-focused property magnate and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was inspired directly by the later-to-be-president Donald Trump, with his red-headed employee Marla (Haviland Morris) referencing his former spouse Marla Maples. Luckily, Clamp demonstrates more humanity than his genuine article inspiration.

The “end of civilisation” video Clamp plays during the height of creature carnage? I discovered it was based on a genuine “Doomsday” video created by the CNN boss Ted Turner should the world truly faced apocalypse. I noticed how Dante went out of his way to film alternate cuts of a self-aware scene where Gremlins seize control of the actual feature in progress. One for cinemas, a separate one for tape and broadcast, each providing a grinning portion of self-referential entertainment sorcery before the term was even a thing.

A Lasting Influence

While it was creature designer Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this deeper gold maintained my fascination as an adult. Ultimately, I even conversed with Dante about it myself and he had no qualms telling me he made the movie with the specific aim of poking fun at those who loved its goofy-but-heartfelt predecessor and craved further installments. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he gleefully confessed. This Looney Tunes-esque insubordination and commitment to not take his sequel as seriously as his Warner Bros bosses evidently expected, only deepened my appreciation further.

When I experienced a unexpected loss in the family earlier this year, I was surprised to find that, during my deepest grief, all I desired to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Strange, isn’t it? Maybe not. The soothing reminiscence it offered was needed to thin out my mind’s sadness sludge – but the insights it had given me as an adult were similarly beneficial.

Like Gremlins running amok in a genetics laboratory, there’s some things in life you just can’t control. Dante is aware of it. The Brain Gremlin agrees completely. Sometimes, you have to follow their example: embrace the chaos, invest all your resources into preserved goods and firearms and try not to view the world with undue solemnity.

It’s robust worldly wisdom from a highly unexpected fountain – and it’s why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will always be my feelgood film.