Imprinted in My Psyche’: The Reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch Is My Comfort Movie
“Well, it’s rather brutal here. We’re advising all of our clients to put everything they’ve got into tinned provisions and hunting rifles.” That bit of sage advice comes from the Brain Gremlin – a scientifically altered, talking, spectacled member of the slick creature crowd that overruns 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 merely an investment tip from one monster to another. However, oddly enough, it’s also surprisingly sturdy existential counsel. Truly, consider my perspective.
When life takes a turn for the worse, the biggest mistake you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin comprehends this. Indeed, the majority of the fang-bearing creatures that populate Dante’s wild 1990 film (arguably his best) possess the same wry, meta comic sensibility regarding the hazy boundary separating daily routine and absolute bedlam. It’s a particular aspect of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that maintains my loyalty – and as I age, it’s the underlying idea that strikes the deepest chord.
A Childhood Fascination
Of course, my connection with this movie didn’t start on such an deeply thoughtful note. As a child, we only had a few battered VHS tapes at home. Part of that group were Gremlins and its sequel, the latter housed in a chunky ex-rental box probably bought from an off-brand video shop and featuring grimacing beasts on its tattered front. I was right away smitten and these films quickly proceeded inserting themselves inside my small, malleable brain. After that point, they became an almost-daily part of my early years entertainment regimen.
Dante’s original usually receives all the plaudits, thanks primarily due to its reputation as a partly frightening holiday classic – and to be fair, I’ve watched Gremlins more times than I can count. Nevertheless, its follow-up seldom receives the same level of high regard, which feels unjust. As a kid, I’d invariably jump at the prospect to watch Gremlins 2. During sunny school summer breaks, I’d seclude myself indoors and play it. When I obtained my very own TV-VHS combo unit, it stayed in constant rotation in my bedroom. Over time, it etched itself permanently in my psyche. If my parents detected this preoccupation, they appeared unbothered.
Subtler Delights and Cultural Easter Eggs
As I matured, new insights enriched frequent screenings, amplifying the pleasure of watching small emerald creatures joyously wreck a New York high-rise. I learned the ahead-of-its-time development mogul and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was inspired directly by the later-to-be-president Donald Trump, with his ginger staff member Marla (Haviland Morris) referencing his second wife Marla Maples. Luckily, Clamp demonstrates more humanity than his genuine article inspiration.
The “end of civilisation” video Clamp plays during maximum monster mayhem? I discovered it was modeled after a genuine “Doomsday” video commissioned by the CNN boss Ted Turner in case the world truly faced apocalypse. I noticed how Dante took extra pains to film different iterations of a self-aware scene where Gremlins hijack the very film you’re watching. An edit for movie houses, one for VHS and TV, each offering a winking bit of meta pop-culture magic before the term was even a thing.
A Lasting Influence
While it was makeup maestro Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this subsurface richness 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 direct intention of mocking those who loved its goofy-but-heartfelt predecessor and wanted more. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he cheerfully disclosed. This Looney Tunes-esque insubordination and determination to not take his sequel as gravely as his Warner Bros bosses clearly wanted him to, only made me love it even more.
When I endured a unexpected loss in the family recently, I was taken aback to discover that, during my deepest grief, all I felt compelled to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Weird, right? Perhaps not. The comforting familiarity it provided was necessary to weaken my mind’s sadness sludge – but the perspectives it had given me as an adult were just as useful.
Like Gremlins rampaging through a genetics laboratory, there’s particular aspects in life you just are powerless over. Dante is aware of it. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to emulate them: welcome the pandemonium, commit your entire being into canned food and shotguns and try not to take things too seriously.
It’s powerful existential guidance from a highly unexpected fountain – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will always be my comfort movie.
