Imprinted in My Mind’: The Reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch Is My Feelgood Movie
“Well, conditions are quite harsh here. Our recommendation is all of our clients to put everything they’ve got into tinned provisions and hunting rifles.” This nugget of wise counsel comes from the Brain Gremlin – a genetically modified, talking, spectacled member of the slick creature crowd that infests Manhattan’s high-tech Clamp Tower skyscraper in filmmaker Joe Dante’s madcap sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch. At first glance, it’s simply an investment tip from one monster to another. However, oddly enough, it’s also pretty solid life advice. Truly, consider my perspective.
When life takes a turn for the worse, the biggest mistake you can do is approach matters with excessive gravity. The Brain Gremlin grasps this. Actually, the majority of the toothy monsters that inhabit Dante’s unrestrained 1990 movie (possibly his finest) possess the same sly, self-aware funny bone regarding the blurry line separating daily routine and absolute bedlam. It’s a particular aspect of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that keeps me coming back – and as I age, it’s the message that echoes the loudest.
A Youthful Fixation
Naturally, my fondness for this movie did not begin on such an introspective level. As a child, we possessed merely a few scratched-up video tapes at home. Included within that collection were Gremlins and its sequel, the latter housed in a bulky previously-rented case almost certainly acquired from an off-brand video shop and featuring growling monsters on its knackered cover. I was right away smitten and these films wasted no time lodging themselves inside my small, malleable brain. After that point, they became an almost-daily part of my childhood viewing routine.
Dante’s initial installment usually receives all the accolades, thanks primarily due to its status as a moderately spooky festive favorite – and let me be clear, I’ve watched Gremlins on countless occasions. That said, its follow-up seldom receives the same level of high regard, which feels unjust. As a kid, I’d always seize the chance to watch Gremlins 2. During long summer holidays, I’d retreat into the house and stick it on. When I got my own TV-VHS combo unit, it continued playing looped in my bedroom. Over time, it became deeply rooted in my psyche. If my parents noticed this obsession, they gave no indication of concern.
Deeper Delights and Pop-Culture Nuggets
As I grew, new understandings enhanced frequent screenings, heightening the enjoyment of watching diminutive verdant beasts gleefully trash a New York high-rise. I learned the forward-thinking real estate tycoon and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was inspired directly by future president Donald Trump, with his auburn-haired worker Marla (Haviland Morris) echoing his one-time partner Marla Maples. Thankfully, Clamp demonstrates more humanity than his actual-world equivalent.
The “apocalyptic” video Clamp plays during peak-Gremlin chaos? I discovered it was based on a actual “Doomsday” video created by the CNN boss Ted Turner should the world really ended. I noticed how Dante went out of his way to film alternate cuts of a self-aware scene where Gremlins take over the exact movie you are viewing. A version for theaters, one for VHS and TV, each offering a winking bit of meta pop-culture magic ahead of its time.
A Lasting Appeal
While it was makeup maestro Rick Baker’s fantastically vile creatures that captured my attention as a child, this subsurface richness held my interest as an adult. Ultimately, I even interviewed Dante about it myself and he had no hesitation informing me he made the movie with the express purpose of mocking those who loved its absurd-yet-genuine predecessor and wanted more. “We were going to make fun of the fact you came to see it,” he cheerfully disclosed. This cartoonish rebelliousness and commitment to not take his sequel as gravely as his Warner Bros bosses evidently expected, only deepened my appreciation further.
When I experienced a abrupt familial death recently, I was taken aback to discover that, during my most profound sorrow, all I wanted to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Weird, right? Possibly not. The comforting familiarity it furnished was needed to weaken my mind’s grief morass – but the insights it had given me as an adult were just as useful.
Like Gremlins rampaging through a genetics laboratory, there’s some things in life you just are powerless over. Dante understands this. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to emulate them: embrace the chaos, commit your entire being into tinned provisions and hunting rifles and try not to approach life with excessive gravity.
It’s robust worldly wisdom from a highly unexpected fountain – and it’s the reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch will forever remain my comfort movie.
