Imprinted in My Consciousness’: The Reason Gremlins 2: The New Batch Is My Feelgood Movie
“Well, it’s rather brutal here. Our recommendation is all of our clients to invest all their resources into canned food and shotguns.” That bit of shrewd guidance comes from the Brain Gremlin – a scientifically altered, speaking, spectacled member of the slick creature crowd that overruns Manhattan’s ultra-modern Clamp Tower skyscraper in filmmaker Joe Dante’s zany follow-up Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Superficially, it’s nothing more than an financial suggestion from one monster to another. Yet, oddly enough, it’s also pretty solid existential counsel. Honestly, hear me out.
When situations deteriorate, the biggest mistake you can do is take things too seriously. The Brain Gremlin understands this. Indeed, a large portion of the fang-bearing creatures that occupy Dante’s chaotic 1990 feature (debateably his greatest) possess the same sly, self-aware funny bone regarding the blurry line separating the mundane and unadulterated chaos. It’s a single component of Gremlins 2: The New Batch that maintains my loyalty – and with the passage of time, it’s the theme that resonates the most.
An Early Life Fixation
Naturally, my fondness for this movie did not begin on such an deeply thoughtful note. Growing up, we were limited to a few battered VHS tapes at home. Among them were Gremlins and its follow-up, the latter housed in a thick former-rental sleeve probably bought from an non-chain rental store and boasting growling monsters on its worn-out artwork. I was instantly captivated and these films did not delay lodging themselves inside my tiny, impressionable mind. Henceforth, they became an practically routine part of my early years entertainment regimen.
Dante’s original commonly garners all the accolades, thanks largely to its legacy as a partly frightening holiday classic – and to be fair, I’ve watched Gremlins on countless occasions. However, its follow-up infrequently obtains the same level of lofty appreciation, which feels criminal. As a kid, I’d invariably jump at the prospect to watch Gremlins 2. During bright summer vacations, I’d retreat into the house and stick it on. When I got my own TV-VHS combo unit, it stayed in constant rotation in my bedroom. Over time, it became deeply rooted in my mental framework. If my parents observed this fixation, they didn’t seem to mind.
Deeper Delights and Societal Easter Eggs
As I got older, new understandings enhanced frequent screenings, heightening the enjoyment of watching little green monsters gleefully trash a New York high-rise. I learned the ahead-of-its-time property magnate and Clamp Tower owner, Daniel Clamp (John Glover), was inspired directly by the eventual commander-in-chief Donald Trump, with his red-headed employee Marla (Haviland Morris) referencing his second wife Marla Maples. Thankfully, Clamp demonstrates more humanity than his real-life counterpart.
The “doomsday” video Clamp plays during the height of creature carnage? I discovered it was modeled after a actual “Doomsday” video commissioned by the CNN boss Ted Turner should the world really ended. I noticed how Dante took extra pains to film alternate cuts of a self-aware scene where Gremlins take over the very film you’re watching. A version for theaters, one for VHS and TV, each providing a grinning portion of meta pop-culture magic prior to the concept being mainstream.
A Persistent Legacy
While it was makeup maestro Rick Baker’s gloriously nasty-looking creatures that drew my gaze as a child, this subsurface richness maintained my fascination as an adult. In time, I even conversed with Dante about it myself and he had no reservations informing me he made the movie with the specific aim of poking fun at 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 insubordination and determination to not take his sequel as solemnly as his Warner Bros bosses clearly wanted him to, only increased my affection for it.
When I went through a unexpected loss in the family earlier this year, I was astonished to realize that, during my most profound sorrow, all I desired to do was sit and watch Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Strange, isn’t it? Perhaps not. The comforting familiarity it provided was necessary to thin out my mind’s sadness sludge – but the insights it had bestowed upon me as an adult were just as useful.
Like Gremlins tearing apart a genetics laboratory, there’s some things in life you just are powerless over. Dante is aware of it. The Brain Gremlin shares this wisdom. Sometimes, you have to emulate them: accept the turmoil, 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 feelgood film.
