Embedded in My Consciousness’: Why Gremlins 2: The New Batch Is My Feelgood Movie
“Well, the situation is pretty dire here. We’re advising all of our clients to invest all their resources into tinned provisions and hunting rifles.” That bit of sage advice comes from the Brain Gremlin – a genetically modified, speaking, spectacled member of the slick creature crowd that overruns Manhattan’s ultra-modern Clamp Tower skyscraper in director Joe Dante’s madcap sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Superficially, it’s nothing more than an investment tip from one monster to another. Yet, oddly enough, it’s also surprisingly sturdy life advice. Truly, hear me out.
When situations deteriorate, the biggest mistake you can do is approach matters with excessive gravity. The Brain Gremlin comprehends this. Actually, the majority of the toothy monsters that populate Dante’s unrestrained 1990 movie (possibly his finest) possess the same wry, meta sense of humour regarding the blurry line separating daily routine and unadulterated chaos. It’s a particular aspect of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that keeps me coming back – and the older I get, it’s the theme that resonates the most.
An Early Life Fascination
Understandably, my connection with this movie did not begin on such an deeply thoughtful note. As a child, we possessed merely a few scratched-up video tapes at home. Included within that collection were Gremlins and its second chapter, the latter housed in a bulky previously-rented case likely purchased from an independent video outlet and sporting growling monsters on its knackered cover. I was instantly captivated and these films quickly proceeded inserting themselves inside my tiny, impressionable mind. After that point, they became an near-everyday part of my childhood viewing routine.
Dante’s first film usually receives all the plaudits, thanks mostly because of its status as a partly frightening holiday classic – and let me be clear, I’ve watched Gremlins on countless occasions. However, its follow-up infrequently obtains 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 long summer holidays, I’d seclude myself indoors and play it. When I acquired my personal TV-VHS combo unit, it stayed in constant rotation in my bedroom. With repetition, it became deeply rooted in my mental framework. If my parents noticed this obsession, they appeared unbothered.
Subtler Rewards and Cultural References
As I matured, new insights enriched multiple watches, amplifying the pleasure of watching diminutive verdant beasts gleefully trash a New York high-rise. I learned the ahead-of-its-time real estate tycoon and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was modeled closely on future president Donald Trump, with his auburn-haired worker Marla (Haviland Morris) referencing his second wife Marla Maples. Luckily, Clamp demonstrates more humanity than his genuine article inspiration.
The “doomsday” video Clamp plays during the height of creature carnage? I discovered it was modeled after a real-life “Doomsday” video created by the CNN boss Ted Turner as a contingency for the world really ended. I noticed how Dante made a special effort to film varying versions of a self-referential segment where Gremlins take over the very film you’re watching. A version for theaters, another for home video and television, each providing a grinning portion of fourth-wall-breaking cultural alchemy before the term was even a thing.
A Lasting Influence
While it was effects expert Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that captured my attention as a child, this hidden treasure held my interest as an adult. Eventually, I even conversed with Dante about it myself and he had no qualms telling me he made the movie with the specific aim of mocking those who loved its absurd-yet-genuine predecessor and desired a sequel. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he gleefully confessed. This anarchic rebelliousness and resolve to not take his sequel as gravely as his Warner Bros bosses obviously desired, only increased my affection for it.
When I experienced a sudden family bereavement earlier this year, I was taken aback to discover that, during my deepest grief, all I desired to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Odd, no? Perhaps not. The soothing reminiscence it furnished was necessary to weaken my mind’s sadness sludge – but the stuff it had given me as an adult were just as useful.
Like Gremlins rampaging through a genetics laboratory, there’s certain elements in life you just can’t control. Dante understands this. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to be like them: welcome the pandemonium, commit your entire being into preserved goods and firearms and try not to approach life with excessive gravity.
It’s strong life advice from a very unlikely source – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will eternally stand as my comfort movie.
