Imprinted in My Consciousness’: The Reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch Is My Comfort Movie
“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. We’re advising all of our clients to put everything they’ve got into tinned provisions and hunting rifles.” This nugget of sage advice comes from the Brain Gremlin – a lab-engineered, speaking, spectacled member of the slimy Gremlin horde that swarms Manhattan’s high-tech Clamp Tower skyscraper in filmmaker Joe Dante’s madcap sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Superficially, it’s merely an investment tip from one monster to another. However, in a strange manner, it’s also pretty solid life advice. Truly, hear me out.
When situations deteriorate, the biggest mistake you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin understands this. In fact, most of the dentally-gifted beasts that inhabit Dante’s chaotic 1990 feature (possibly his finest) possess the same knowing, self-referential sense of humour regarding the hazy boundary separating everyday life and unadulterated chaos. It’s a particular aspect of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that maintains my loyalty – and with the passage of time, it’s the message that strikes the deepest chord.
A Youthful Fascination
Understandably, my attachment to this movie wasn’t born on such an philosophical plane. Growing up, we were limited to a few scratched-up video tapes at home. Among them were Gremlins and its second chapter, the latter housed in a chunky ex-rental box almost certainly acquired from an off-brand video shop and featuring grimacing beasts on its knackered cover. I was right away smitten and these films did not delay embedding themselves inside my small, malleable brain. Henceforth, they became an almost-daily part of my early years entertainment regimen.
Dante’s initial installment usually receives all the plaudits, thanks mostly because of its legacy as a semi-scary seasonal fave – and don’t get me wrong, I’ve watched Gremlins an incalculable number of times. That said, its successor infrequently obtains the same level of lofty appreciation, which feels a travesty. As a kid, I’d always seize the chance to watch Gremlins 2. During sunny school summer breaks, I’d lock myself inside and play it. When I obtained my very own TV-VHS combo unit, it stayed in constant rotation in my bedroom. With repetition, it etched itself permanently in my psyche. If my parents observed this fixation, they didn’t seem to mind.
Subtler Delights and Pop-Culture Easter Eggs
As I matured, new insights rewarded multiple watches, heightening the enjoyment of watching diminutive verdant beasts happily vandalize a New York high-rise. I learned the ahead-of-its-time real estate tycoon and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was inspired directly by future president Donald Trump, with his red-headed employee Marla (Haviland Morris) echoing his former spouse Marla Maples. Fortunately, Clamp has more heart than his genuine article inspiration.
The “end of civilisation” video Clamp plays during peak-Gremlin chaos? I discovered it was based on a real-life “Doomsday” video commissioned 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 meta sequence where Gremlins hijack the very film you’re watching. An edit for movie houses, another for home video and television, each offering a winking bit of meta pop-culture magic before the term was even a thing.
A Persistent Influence
While it was creature designer Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that captured my attention as a child, this hidden treasure held my interest as an adult. In time, I even conversed with Dante about it myself and he had no reservations telling me he made the movie with the express purpose of ridiculing those who loved its silly-yet-sincere predecessor and desired a sequel. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he happily revealed. This anarchic insubordination and resolve to not take his sequel as solemnly as his Warner Bros bosses evidently expected, only made me love it even more.
When I experienced a unexpected loss in the family recently, I was astonished to realize that, during my most profound sorrow, all I wanted to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Odd, no? Maybe not. The nostalgic calm it furnished was needed to weaken my mind’s sadness sludge – but the perspectives it had bestowed upon me as an adult were similarly beneficial.
Like Gremlins running amok in a genetics laboratory, there’s some things in life you just cannot manage. Dante understands this. The Brain Gremlin agrees completely. Sometimes, you have to be like them: welcome the pandemonium, commit your entire being into preserved goods and firearms and try not to take things too seriously.
It’s powerful existential guidance from a very unlikely source – and it’s why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will always be my go-to cinematic solace.
