My Review of Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)

 

Written by Charles S. Haas

Directed by Joe Dante

Kate (re Gizmo): "What happened to him?"

Billy: "I dunno. I guess they pushed him too far."

Looking at my blog, I'm surprised that I reviewed Gremlins (1984) nearly a decade ago. I could've sworn it wasn't as long ago but here we are. Then there's this sequel. I know, I know but a negative isn't what to expect here.

I can't really give a negative because I actually like this sequel. Probably a lot more than most people do and I am at peace with that. I just think it's rather neat. Does it match the brilliance of the first movie? Of course not, but I have fun with it.

Taking place some years after the first movie, Billy Peltzer (Zach Galligan) and his fiancée, Kate Beringer, (Phoebe Cates) have now relocated to New York and working in the same building. Billy gets to design buildings while Kate's a tour guide. Billy's also got the unwanted advance of co-worker, Marla Bloodstone (Haviland Morris), which sparked a rivalry with Kate.

Of course this ain't much compared to the return of Gizmo (Howie Mandel). He was brought to Clamp Centre to be experimented on by scientists. It did mean reuniting with Billy and Kate but yet again, it also meant the creation of more evil Mogwai, in particular characters like the Intelligent Gremlin (Tony Randall), Mohawk (Frank Weller) and the rather amorous, Greta. The latter in particular had a thing for security chief, Frank Forster (Robert Picardo).

There's a fun supporting role for John Glover as Daniel Clamp along with the return of Billy's neighbours, Murray (Dick Miller) and Sheila Futterman (Jackie Joseph), an amusing team up with Kate and Marla and unlike the first movie, at least Gizmo got to stay with Billy this time. That in itself certainly cemented a spot in my heart for this sequel.

- I loved Christopher Lee popping up as an evil scientist along with the Looney Tunes bits. There's a good few cameos to keep an eye out.

- Joe Dante took some convincing to do this sequel. He really didn't want to do one.

- Standout music: Fats Domino I'm Ready and Jeff Beck's Sling Shot.

- Chronology: A few years since the first movie and set in New York.

There's a lot of fun to be had with Gremlins 2: The New Batch. It's a mad sequel, delightfully satirical and didn't repeat the first movie too much. I cannot bring myself to dislike this, even a tad. It's too much fun.

Rating: 7 out of 10