Embedded 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 invest all their resources into preserved goods and firearms.” That bit of sage advice comes from the Brain Gremlin – a scientifically altered, talking, spectacled member of the slimy Gremlin horde that overruns Manhattan’s ultra-modern Clamp Tower skyscraper in helmer Joe Dante’s unhinged continuation Gremlins 2: The New Batch. At first glance, it’s nothing more than an financial suggestion from one monster to another. However, oddly enough, it’s also pretty solid existential counsel. Seriously, consider my perspective.
When things go bad, the worst thing you can do is view events with undue solemnity. The Brain Gremlin understands this. Indeed, a large portion of the dentally-gifted beasts that populate Dante’s wild 1990 film (arguably his best) possess the same sly, self-aware funny bone regarding the indistinct border separating the mundane and unadulterated chaos. It’s a particular aspect of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that ensures my return – and with the passage of time, it’s the message that resonates the most.
A Youthful Obsession
Of course, my connection with this movie did not begin on such an philosophical plane. As a child, we were limited to a few scratched-up video tapes at home. Part of that group were Gremlins and its second chapter, the latter housed in a bulky previously-rented case almost certainly acquired from an independent video outlet and boasting grimacing beasts on its worn-out artwork. I was right away smitten and these films quickly proceeded lodging themselves inside my small, malleable brain. After that point, they became an almost-daily part of my youthful watching schedule.
Dante’s first film usually receives all the praise, thanks mostly because of its reputation as a partly frightening holiday classic – and to be fair, I’ve watched Gremlins an incalculable number of times. Nevertheless, its follow-up rarely gets the same level of high regard, which feels unjust. As a kid, I’d invariably jump at the prospect to watch Gremlins 2. During long summer holidays, I’d seclude myself indoors and play it. When I got my own TV-VHS combo unit, it stayed in constant rotation in my bedroom. With repetition, it etched itself permanently in my mindset. If my parents noticed this obsession, they didn’t seem to mind.
Hidden Discoveries and Pop-Culture References
As I matured, new revelations enhanced multiple watches, heightening the enjoyment of watching little green monsters joyously wreck a New York high-rise. I learned the future-focused property magnate and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was modeled closely on the eventual commander-in-chief Donald Trump, with his red-headed employee Marla (Haviland Morris) echoing his second wife Marla Maples. Fortunately, Clamp demonstrates more humanity than his real-life counterpart.
The “apocalyptic” video Clamp plays during the height of creature carnage? I discovered it was inspired by a actual “Doomsday” video commissioned by the CNN boss Ted Turner as a contingency for the world really ended. I noticed how Dante went out of his way to film varying versions of a meta sequence where Gremlins take over the very film you’re watching. An edit for movie houses, a separate one for tape and broadcast, each providing a grinning portion of meta pop-culture magic prior to the concept being mainstream.
A Lasting Appeal
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. Eventually, I even spoke to Dante about it myself and he had no reservations telling me he made the movie with the specific aim 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 happily revealed. This cartoonish rebelliousness and determination 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 abrupt familial death not long ago, I was taken aback to discover that, during my deepest grief, all I desired to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Strange, isn’t it? Perhaps not. The soothing reminiscence it furnished was necessary to dilute my mind’s mourning mire – but the insights it had imparted to me as an adult were similarly beneficial.
Like Gremlins tearing apart a genetics laboratory, there’s some things in life you just cannot manage. Dante is aware of it. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to follow their example: accept the turmoil, commit your entire being into tinned provisions and hunting rifles and try not to view the world with undue solemnity.
It’s strong life advice from a most improbable origin – and it’s why Gremlins 2: The New Batch will forever remain my comfort movie.
