Imprinted in My Consciousness’: Why Gremlins 2: The New Batch Is My Comfort Movie
“Well, conditions are quite harsh here. The guidance we offer all of our clients to invest all their resources into canned food and shotguns.” This nugget of sage advice comes from the Brain Gremlin – a genetically modified, articulate, glasses-wearing member of the oozy monster mob that overruns Manhattan’s super-smart Clamp Tower skyscraper in helmer Joe Dante’s zany follow-up Gremlins 2: The New Batch. On the surface, it’s nothing more than an portfolio pointer from one monster to another. However, oddly enough, it’s also remarkably sound existential counsel. Truly, hear me out.
When situations deteriorate, the most counterproductive action you can do is approach matters with excessive gravity. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. In fact, the majority of the dentally-gifted beasts that populate Dante’s unrestrained 1990 movie (possibly his finest) possess the same sly, self-aware comic sensibility regarding the indistinct border separating daily routine and pure pandemonium. It’s one element of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that maintains my loyalty – and as I age, it’s the theme that resonates the most.
A Youthful Fascination
Understandably, my attachment to this movie did not begin on such an introspective level. As a child, we only had a few battered VHS tapes at home. Included within that collection were Gremlins and its follow-up, the latter housed in a chunky ex-rental box almost certainly acquired from an off-brand video shop and featuring growling monsters on its tattered front. I was right away smitten and these films wasted no time embedding themselves inside my young, susceptible psyche. After that point, they became an almost-daily part of my early years entertainment regimen.
Dante’s initial installment commonly garners all the plaudits, thanks primarily due to its status as a partly frightening holiday classic – and don’t get me wrong, I’ve watched Gremlins an incalculable number of times. However, its successor seldom receives the same level of elevated esteem, which feels a travesty. As a kid, I’d never miss an opportunity to watch Gremlins 2. During long summer holidays, I’d lock myself inside and play it. When I acquired my personal TV-VHS combo unit, it stayed in constant rotation in my bedroom. Over time, it became deeply rooted in my psyche. If my parents detected this preoccupation, they gave no indication of concern.
Deeper Rewards and Cultural References
As I got older, new understandings enhanced multiple watches, heightening the enjoyment of watching little green monsters gleefully trash a New York high-rise. I learned the forward-thinking real estate tycoon and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was based squarely upon the later-to-be-president Donald Trump, with his red-headed employee Marla (Haviland Morris) referencing his second wife Marla Maples. Fortunately, Clamp demonstrates more humanity than his real-life counterpart.
The “doomsday” video Clamp plays during maximum monster mayhem? I discovered it was based on a actual “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 different iterations of a meta sequence where Gremlins take over the actual feature in progress. A version for theaters, one for VHS and TV, each delivering a smirking slice of fourth-wall-breaking cultural alchemy before the term was even a thing.
An Enduring Legacy
While it was creature designer Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that caught my eye as a child, this deeper gold maintained my fascination as an adult. Eventually, I even conversed with Dante about it myself and he had no hesitation informing 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 gleefully confessed. This Looney Tunes-esque defiance and determination to not take his sequel as seriously as his Warner Bros bosses evidently expected, only made me love it even more.
When I went through a sudden family bereavement not long ago, I was surprised to find that, during my heightest mourning, all I desired to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Strange, isn’t it? Perhaps not. The comforting familiarity it offered was essential to thin out my mind’s mourning mire – but the insights it had given me as an adult were similarly beneficial.
Like Gremlins tearing apart a genetics laboratory, there’s particular aspects in life you just cannot manage. Dante understands this. The Brain Gremlin knows it too. Sometimes, you have to follow their example: welcome the pandemonium, commit your entire being into tinned provisions and hunting rifles and try not to take things too seriously.
It’s robust worldly wisdom from a most improbable origin – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will always be my comfort movie.
