31 Days of Halloween, Day 14: "Gremlins 2: The New Batch"
31 Days of Halloween, Day 14: "Gremlins 2: The New Batch" (Streaming on MAX)
"Gremlins", the horror comedy classic featuring the Mogwai Gizmo and his chaotic and destructive offspring, debuted a monster movie that was tame enough for a PG rating, but still dark enough to leave several kids reaching for the nightlight. It has some moments of levity throughout, and some genuinely funny gags, but for the most part it takes a pretty earnest approach to the creatures.
Director Joe Dante was very vocal about not wanting to do a sequel, but after multiple requests from Warner Bros., Dante agreed to commit to the project. Dante simply had one demand in order to accept the job: he would be allowed to do whatever he wanted with the sequel. The end result of this deal is "Gremlins 2: The New Batch", one of the most bizarre and delightful sequels to spring forth from the genre.
"Gremlins 2" is a true sequel, as it continues the story of Billy Peltzer (Zach Galligan) that began in the original film. This time, rather than existing in Billy's hometown of Kingston Falls, the sequel is set in a technologically advanced high-rise building in Manhattan. His girlfriend Kate (Phoebe Cates) returns from the first film and also works in the building, and tensions are high as a new boss (a very charming John Glover) is surveying the progress of the building. A little bit of trivia as well: John Glover’s Daniel Clamp was based on Donald Trump, all the way back in 1990. The one key distinction is Glover had the idea of making the character be a far more friendly and empathetic version of how Trump was perceived at the time. And as anyone reads this knows, that was the last time anyone heard of Donald Trump.
The building itself is interesting because the premise in the film is the structure is debuting a ton of new technology, and in a sense is essentially an early example of a "smart building". It is a fun example of science fiction eventually becoming science fact, and it leads to plenty of gags in the movie as various doors and contraptions malfunction. Since the inception of the “gremlin” monster was usually tied with the creatures disrupting technology in some fashion, it also serves as a fitting setting.
"Gags" stands out as a key theme for "Gremlins 2" because, while "Gremlins" was meant to maintain a spooky tone at times, "Gremlins 2" is almost more of a parody of the original film than a straight sequel. There is breaking of the fourth wall, there are jokes referencing other classic films, Gremlins consistently seem to have a few seconds of life to provide one more joke before expiring, and there's even a genius IQ Gremlin voiced by Tony Randall. It feels less like a genuine effort to unnerve or terrify, and more like Warner Bros. cartoon if it were written during a hallucinogenic trip. And the audience is all the better for it.
This movie to this day makes me burst out laughing. There's one scene in the movie where a Gremlin places a mousetrap in the sandwich of a secretary wearing a red sweater, horribly injuring her. Once she is unconscious, the Gremlin then sits at her desk in a Gremlin-sized red sweater of his own and pretends to fill the secretary's role. It is a completely silly and asinine moment in a movie littered with them, but it fills me with such joy to see such a bonkers vision unleashed on the screen. Joe Dante in films like "The Burbs" always aimed for a mix of Three Stooges style slapstick blended with a dose of black comedy, and this film may in fact be the most perfect iteration of that tone that he was constantly seeking. Even the most poignant moment from the first film, where Phoebe Cates recalls how her father died during the Christmas season, is played for laughs here with a similar story with far more ridiculous circumstances.
All of this is further enhanced by special effects legend Rick Baker and his amazing work on the Gremlins themselves. This is somewhat of a landmark in modern puppetry and effects and in particular, the Brain Gremlin voiced by Tony Randall is a pretty incredible achievement in puppetry effects. These creatures are expressive and they all seem to have distinct personalities, and even in 2024 they still look fantastic. As much as I would like to see a third film, the fear that it would lean far too heavily away from the practical effects that have made the first two films somewhat timeless would likely doom the franchise.
If some of the entries are a little too heavy on the suspense, "Gremlins 2: The New Batch" is the perfect viewing experience to lighten the mood. It takes a far goofier journey through the world of horror, and in doing so it created one of the more entertaining movie sequels.