12 Sci-Fi Movie Sequels That Deserve A Second Chance

Unlike fellow 1984 horror comedy Ghostbusters, Gremlins 2 The New Batch wasn’t outwardly reviled upon release. Nonetheless critical consensus did come to an agreement that the focus-free, overstuffed, and altogether far zanier second flick suffered from comparisons to its darker and more coherent predecessor, and so the prevailing wisdom has gone for decades since.

However, a recent trend in the Gremlins fandom has begun reconsidering the second film as an anarchic masterpiece of its own, as evidenced by cult podcast Chapo Trap House’s recent interview with director Joe Dante and the satirical Twitter page The Institute of Gremlins 2 Studies which claims to be committed to untangling the film’s vast depth of social commentary.

Dante went for broke with this cartoonier, stranger, and in many ways much more daring sequel, and it’s well worth revisiting for its prescient satire and demented hilarity alone.