Gremlins 2: The New Batch

Summary

“Just rabies?….I’ve got rabies. I was supposed to get the flu this week.”

For a few years after directing Gremlins, Joe Dante moved forward and pursued a variety of fantastic projects that had nothing to do with the huge commercial success that defined the early part of his career. It had not been easy to work with all those puppets and it would take one hell of an offer for him to consider coming back to make a sequel. The studio kept approaching him and sweetening the offer, but the scripts were simply not good enough. Finally, the studio came back with an offer that was truly impossible to refuse – he essentially could do whatever he wanted. This was an offer rarely made by a big studio, so Joe accepted and got to work on creating a proper sequel to Gremlins with screenwriter Charles Haas. The resulting film is one of the most unique sequels to ever be put to celluloid. People debate whether the sequel is better than the original constantly in the same way that people debate the merits of The Godfather versus The Godfather: Part II. The preference is not a matter of of quality so much as a matter of preference. Both films are great..

In New York, in Chinatown. Mr. Forster (Robert Picardo) arrives at the curiosity shop of Mr. Wing. Daniel Clamp (John Glover) would like to speak with Mr. Wing. Mr. Forster brings a television with a video feed of the notorious building developer. Mr. Clamp wants to buy out Mr. Weng’s place as the only holdout so he can build his Chinatown project. When Mr. Weng refuses his offer, Mr. Forster leaves behind the television. Gizmo watches a little bit of Rambo. Six weeks later-  Mr. Wing has passed away and Clamp can purchase the building to finish his Chinatown property. As the building is destroyed, Gizmo flees on foot to an alley where he is snatched by Lewis – one of two identical twins that works at a lab inside the Clamp Premiere Regency Trade Center & Retail Concourse. The building is incredibly high tech and houses a cable network and numerous other departments. Billy (Zach Galligan) and Katie (Phoebe Cates) are still together and now live in New York. Billy works a soul crushing job at Clamp Trade Center underneath Marla (Haviland Morris) and Forster. Neither of them appreciate him or the artistic renderings he draws of potential Calmp projects. Katie works as a tour guide in the building. Television host Grandpa Fred (Robert Prosky) works for Clamp Cable Network as a horror film host. He is friends with Billy. Things are tough for Grandpa Fred because he had always hoped to become a journalist. The genetic engineering lab in the building is called Splice’O Life Inc. It is run by Dr. Catheter (Christopher Lee.) He works with the two twins (or possibly clones?) that brought Gizmo into the lab. Dr. Catheter plans to run all sorts of tests on Gizmo –  some of them could be painful. When a delivery man that has visited Splice’O Life hums the same tune that Gizmo sings near Billy’s cubicle, Billy decides to look around. He goes to the fifty first floor and locates Gizmo. He helps Gizmo to escape and stores Gizmo in his desk. He plans to have Katie bring Gizmo home that evening. Unfortunately, while left to his own devices, Gizmo is exposed to some water as a janitor (John Austin) attempts to repair a water fountain. The resulting gremlins force Gizmo into an air duct and lock him away. When she comes back to the office, Katie accidentally grabs an idiotic laughing gremlin that looks like Gizmo, while the other gremlins go wild inside the Clamp complex. When the evil gremlins reach the genetic lab, they begin to drink solutions that have different qualities. This breeds gremlins that take on the qualities of vegetables, a bat, electricity, and, most importantly, the Brain Gremlin voiced by Tony Randall.

Gremlins 2: The New Batch is one of the better sequels made within the Hollywood system. It takes all of the best elements of the first film and turns them on their head in inventive ways. It is not afraid to break the fourth wall or make fun of itself – including a scene which brings in Terry ”Hulk” Hogan and involves gremlins in the projection booth. The film plays by its own rules while cleverly referencing the prior film – including a scene of discomfort regarding Abraham Lincoln for Phoebe Cates’ Katie. The film understands what worked well in the first film – namely the chemistry between Zach Galligan and Phoebe Cates – and it makes sure that their relationship makes good sense in the second film while not becoming the primary focus. The primary focus of the film is the big conceit – gremlins have taken over a skyscraper and have new abilities. With the aid of Rick Baker supervising effects, the film allows itself to go totally nuts. Gremlins do things in this film that would have been impossible in the prior film. Gizmo dances. A gremlin speaks very elegantly in the voice of Tony Randall. A bat gremlin, spider gremlin, electrical gremlin, vegetable gremlin, and more use their unique abilities to spawn new and intricate jokes. Where else can you see a gremlin turned into a gargoyle? The film plays out like Looney Tunes come to life. The film is sandwiched between an opening and closing sequence from the masterful Chuck Jones himself. The whole film feels like Joe Dante letting loose completely with no restrictions, and because of that the film remains one of a kind.

There are so many things that caught my eye but here are a few: 

Clamp’s book is called “I Took Manhattan.”

A hilarious termination of an employee played by Henry Gibson.

A great sequence involving a show called “Microwaving with Marge.”

Leonard Maltin cameoing as himself to discuss Gremlins in “The Movie Police.”
A bat symbol when the bat gremlin escapes.

Overall – Gremlins 2: The New Batch is an even more frantic and joke-filled sequel to the classic Gremlins. It stands as one of the more daring sequels made within the Hollywood system.

Video

Warner released Gremlins 2: The New Batch on Blu-ray back in 2012 with an AVC-Encoded MPEG-4 1080p transfer. At the time of its release, it looked pretty good but, given all of the advances since then, the transfer has started to look a little dated. The source is in good shape and colors are consistent throughout. The film is sometimes a little soft, but for the most part fine detail is pretty decent. This is a pretty good leap ahead of the old DVD, but the film is ripe for at least a 2K reappraisal at some point.

Audio

Gremlins 2: The New Batch features a DTS-HD MA 5.1 track that is very active from the beginning of the picture to the end. There is a lot going on in this film so the sound mix is true to that as one would expect. The LFE is used consistently and Jerry Goldsmith’s score sounds nice on the track. A really good track overall.

Supplements:

• Audio Commentary with director Joe Dante, writer Charlie Haas, producer Michael Finnell, and actor Zach Galligan  
• The Making of Gremlins 2 – a short EPK with some behind-the-scenes footage.
• Deleted Scenes with optional commentary -well worth your time. Even more gremlins gags
• Gag reel
• Alternate Home Video Sequence – don’t skip this, it’s hilarious
• Theatrical Trailer 

Overall Scores:

Video – 3.5/5

Audio – 4.5/5

Supplements – 3.5/5

Overall – 4/5

Gremlins 2: The New Batch is a rare thing – a studio film where the writer and director were given free reign to go nuts. The resulting picture is a satisfying sequel that pokes fun at as much as possible – including the tropes of being a sequel. Featuring a beginning and ending animated sequence from Chuck Jones, the film is a madcap explosion of nonstop gags and mayhem. It is one of the rare sequels that is debatably as good as the original film. I am thankful that a sequel was made to Gremlins and that it turned out this well. Gremlins 2: The New Batch comes to Blu-ray with a good looking transfer that has begun to look a little antiquated now. The supplements are really enjoyable and this release comes recommended.