Although the 1980s saw the rise of horror-franchise entries that employed intertextual references and meta jokes to revitalize audience engagement with cinema, it was rare for sequels in other genres to cross into a similar mode of self-awareness. Even as films like Evil Dead 2 and Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives critiqued the absurdity of genre tropes and cheekily decried the seemingly never-ending additions to their iconic series, Joe Dante’s Gremlins 2: The New Batch fused a similar brand of meta humor and referentiality, helping pave the way for 1990s pop culture-centric comedies like Wayne’s World and the Scream films, as well as modern meta-sequels including The Matrix Revolutions and Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Building on the playful promise of the original 1984 classic with a self-aware glee previously reserved for horror franchises, Gremlins 2 expanded the role of the sequel away from a place of pure narrative continuity and into a realm of tonal experimentation. While the plot of Gremlins 2 centers on the titular creatures’ attempt to thwart New York media mogul Daniel Clamp’s corporate growth by wreaking havoc on his futuristic skyscraper, the magic of the film lies in the chaotic vignettes that characterize the Gremlins plan of anti-capitalist vengeance. Rather than merely creating stock scenarios of playful violence for the Gremlins to exact against Clamp and his henchmen, Dante prioritizes reenactments of famous film moments to celebrate his love for cinema and engage the audience’s ability to catch every reference along the way. In particular, Dante’s references to horror and action cinema bridge the gap between the family focus of the first Gremlins film and the genre-centric audience that elevated the franchise to cult status.

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A gremlin wearing a "I Heart NY' shirt in Gremlins 2: The New Batch
Image via Warner Bros.

From the scene of a Gremlin hanging from a model building like King Kong to the masking of an acid-soaked Gremlin in a moment mirroring The Phantom of the Opera, Gremlins 2 pays tribute to the genre classics that contributed to Dante’s perspective of cinema. Beyond classic cinema, the introduction of a Bat-Gremlin and Gizmo’s momentary turn as a Rambo Gremlin obliterates notions of franchise care through post-Reagan consumerist satire, responding to recent blockbuster films like Batman and Rambo directly by playfully critiquing the movie industry from within. Similarly, the fourth-wall break from Hulk Hogan capitalizes on the cultural cache of the famous wrestler to call out the chaos of the motion picture, providing a moment of comedic relief and literal pause in the midst of the pop culture-driven sensory overload of the spectacle.

While all of these references could add up to something cynical or even soulless, Dante’s apparent love for the medium balances the biting satire to craft an on-screen work of art more similar to collage than traditional filmmaking. Perhaps the only apparent forerunner of this fusion of industry satire and cinematic celebration is Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, which blended every corner of animation history within a live action neo-noir context. Yet Gremlins 2 expands beyond the interweaving of live-action and animated filmmaking through its subtle cinematic clues for observant audiences through puppetry, tactile production design, and revisionist references to other motion pictures. In this way, Gremlins 2 is more akin to contemporary self-aware fare like Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One or the Deadpool franchise, demonstrating Dante’s long-term impact on the film industry.

Gremlins 2 Christopher Lee
Image via Warner Bros.

Perhaps the most interesting and entertaining turn that the film takes is placing the Gremlins within a movie theater, as they wreak havoc on the spectatorial space. In the midst of an otherwise normal sequence of Dr. Catheter, portrayed by cult film icon Christopher Lee, panicking about the Gremlins’ dangerous plot, the film stock seems to disintegrate before our eyes, revealing the Gremlins’ shadows beaming onto the screen from the projector’s light. By establishing Gremlins 2 as a film-within-a-film as the on-screen audience complains about the bad projection, Dante doubles down on the meta nature of the film and allows for the aforementioned Hulk Hogan cameo to send the viewers back into the spectacle. This sequence matches the audience’s involvement with Gremlins 2 to the Gremlins’ involvement with the film within a film similar to the video game pitch meeting in The Matrix Revolutions or the meme-centric multiverse references in Spider-Man: No Way Home; however, while the latter films engage nostalgia and self-awareness with a seamless cleverness, Gremlins 2 calls out the meta craziness through a creatively chaotic overload of the senses.

Even as spectators have grown somewhat tired of the constant references to previous franchise entries and other films, the self-aware sequel remains a mainstay in the industry. While many people point to horror cinema as an origin for the interwoven worlds and multiverses that can be found in the MCU and Star Wars saga today, Gremlins 2 is an essential piece in the puzzle of self-referential cinema. Although Gremlins 2 flopped at the box office in 1990, the development of a strong cult following has developed a new appreciation for the meta masterpiece, securing the film’s legacy as a pivotal force in franchise filmmaking.