10 AMAZING Horror Sequels That Shouldn’t Have Worked
4. Gremlins 2: The New Batch
After Gremlins took the world by storm, tossing out a sequel was a no-brainer. But instead of getting more of the same, Gremlins 2: The New Batch threw in musical numbers, electric monsters, and Hulk frickin' Hogan talking directly to the audience.
As a result, it wasn't a surprise that The New Batch didn't have the same reaction as before. But at the same time, it's commendable how Joe Dante threw every kooky idea imaginable into the project. It was also ambitious to have the Gremlins serve as a commentary for consumer culture and corporate excess rather than once again depicting them as pure monsters.
The film never stops poking fun at itself, contradicting the set rules of the Gremlins, mocking dialogue from the original, and even killing off a critic who hated the first film. The New Batch's self-awareness and joyful absurdity allows it to stand apart from the rest of the genre, long before Scream popularised meta-horrors.
Instead of repeating the first one, Gremlins 2: The New Batch expands the concept in imaginative and unpredictable ways. That boldness is exactly why a movie that should never have worked became a cult-classic.