‘Ingrained in My Psyche’: Why 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 wise counsel comes from the Brain Gremlin – a scientifically altered, articulate, bespectacled member of the slimy Gremlin horde that infests Manhattan’s ultra-modern Clamp Tower skyscraper in filmmaker Joe Dante’s madcap sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. On the surface, it’s simply an financial suggestion from one monster to another. But, in a strange manner, it’s also remarkably sound existential counsel. Seriously, hear me out.
When situations deteriorate, the biggest mistake you can do is approach matters with excessive gravity. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. In fact, a large portion of the fang-bearing creatures that occupy Dante’s unrestrained 1990 movie (debateably his greatest) possess the same sly, self-aware funny bone regarding the hazy boundary separating the mundane and absolute bedlam. It’s a particular aspect of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that keeps me coming back – and with the passage of time, it’s the message that strikes the deepest chord.
A Childhood Fixation
Understandably, my attachment to this movie did not begin on such an deeply thoughtful note. Growing up, 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 likely purchased from an independent video outlet and boasting growling monsters on its tattered front. I was right away smitten and these films wasted no time embedding themselves inside my young, susceptible psyche. From then on, they became an practically routine part of my childhood viewing routine.
Dante’s initial installment commonly garners all the plaudits, thanks mostly because of its status as a semi-scary seasonal fave – and to be fair, I’ve watched Gremlins on countless occasions. That said, its sequel infrequently obtains the same level of high regard, which feels unjust. As a kid, I’d always seize the chance to watch Gremlins 2. During bright summer vacations, I’d seclude myself indoors and stick it on. 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 didn’t seem to mind.
Deeper Delights and Cultural Easter Eggs
As I grew, new revelations enhanced repeat viewings, heightening the enjoyment of watching small emerald creatures gleefully trash a New York high-rise. I learned the ahead-of-its-time development mogul and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was modeled closely on the later-to-be-president Donald Trump, with his auburn-haired worker Marla (Haviland Morris) echoing his former spouse Marla Maples. Luckily, Clamp has more heart than his actual-world equivalent.
The “end of civilisation” video Clamp plays during peak-Gremlin chaos? I discovered it was inspired by a actual “Doomsday” video commissioned by the CNN boss Ted Turner in case the world actually met its demise. I noticed how Dante went out of his way to film alternate cuts of a self-referential segment where Gremlins take over the actual feature in progress. A version for theaters, another for home video and television, each delivering a smirking slice of meta pop-culture magic before the term was even a thing.
An Enduring Influence
While it was effects expert Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this hidden treasure kept me hooked as an adult. Ultimately, I even interviewed Dante about it myself and he had no qualms informing me he made the movie with the specific aim of mocking those who loved its absurd-yet-genuine predecessor and craved further installments. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he happily revealed. This cartoonish rebelliousness and resolve to not take his sequel as solemnly as his Warner Bros bosses obviously desired, only deepened my appreciation further.
When I endured a unexpected loss in the family earlier this year, I was surprised to find that, during my heightest mourning, all I felt compelled 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 dilute my mind’s mourning mire – but the stuff it had given me as an adult were similarly beneficial.
Like Gremlins tearing apart a genetics laboratory, there’s some things in life you just are powerless over. Dante understands this. The Brain Gremlin agrees completely. Sometimes, you have to be like them: welcome the pandemonium, put everything you’ve got into canned food and shotguns and try not to approach life with excessive gravity.
It’s robust worldly wisdom from a highly unexpected fountain – and it’s why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will always be my go-to cinematic solace.
