Imprinted in My Psyche’: Why Gremlins 2: The New Batch Is My Comfort Movie
“Well, it’s rather brutal here. Our recommendation is all of our clients to invest all their resources into tinned provisions and hunting rifles.” That bit of shrewd guidance comes from the Brain Gremlin – a genetically modified, talking, glasses-wearing member of the slick creature crowd that swarms Manhattan’s ultra-modern Clamp Tower skyscraper in filmmaker Joe Dante’s zany follow-up 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 life guidance. Seriously, consider my perspective.
When life takes a turn for the worse, the worst thing you can do is approach matters with excessive gravity. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. Indeed, most of the dentally-gifted beasts that populate Dante’s chaotic 1990 feature (arguably his best) possess the same wry, meta sense of humour regarding the blurry line separating the mundane and absolute bedlam. It’s a particular aspect of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that ensures my return – and as I age, it’s the underlying idea that resonates the most.
An Early Life Obsession
Of course, my attachment to this movie didn’t start on such an philosophical plane. Growing up, we possessed merely a few well-worn videocassettes at home. Part of that group were Gremlins and its second chapter, the latter housed in a chunky ex-rental box almost certainly acquired from an non-chain rental store and boasting 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 practically routine part of my youthful watching schedule.
Dante’s first film commonly garners all the accolades, thanks largely to its status as a moderately spooky festive favorite – and let me be clear, I’ve watched Gremlins an incalculable number of times. However, its sequel seldom receives the same level of elevated esteem, which feels unjust. As a kid, I’d invariably jump at the prospect to watch Gremlins 2. During bright summer vacations, I’d lock myself inside and pop it in. When I got my own TV-VHS combo unit, it stayed in constant rotation in my bedroom. Gradually, it became deeply rooted in my mental framework. If my parents observed this fixation, they gave no indication of concern.
Subtler Delights and Cultural Easter Eggs
As I matured, new revelations enriched repeat viewings, elevating the fun of watching diminutive verdant beasts happily vandalize a New York high-rise. I learned the future-focused real estate tycoon and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was modeled closely on the eventual commander-in-chief Donald Trump, with his auburn-haired worker Marla (Haviland Morris) referencing his second wife Marla Maples. Fortunately, Clamp has more heart than his actual-world equivalent.
The “doomsday” 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 actually met its demise. I noticed how Dante took extra pains to film alternate cuts of a meta sequence where Gremlins hijack the very film you’re watching. One for cinemas, one for VHS and TV, each providing a grinning portion of fourth-wall-breaking cultural alchemy ahead of its time.
A Persistent Influence
While it was effects expert Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this deeper gold held my interest as an adult. Ultimately, I even conversed with Dante about it myself and he had no reservations telling me he made the movie with the express purpose of poking fun at 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 cheerfully disclosed. This cartoonish insubordination and commitment 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 unexpected loss in the family recently, I was astonished to realize 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 provided was essential to thin out my mind’s grief morass – but the insights it had bestowed upon me as an adult were equally valuable.
Like Gremlins running amok in a genetics laboratory, there’s some things in life you just are powerless over. Dante understands this. The Brain Gremlin knows it too. 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 comfort movie.
