Gremlins 2: The New Batch – Very underrated sequel


When ‘great’ sequels are talked about, we often hear about ‘Aliens, T2’ and ‘The Empire Strikes Back.’ However, ‘Gremlins 2: The New Batch’ is seldom mentioned.  Okay, so it’s not as good as those others, but – as far as sequels go – I feel it’s definitely one of those rarities that truly does surpass the original.

In case you haven’t watched the little green nasties’ first outing, then it’s about the cutest creature ever created – a ‘Mogwi’ known as ‘Gizmo’ – who, despite his adorable nature, is capable of spawning evil semi-clones who then become slimy, green, evil gremlins.  The action is now set in a high-rise office block in the big city, rather than a small American town, but, seeing as the building is quickly put into ‘lockdown’ it all soon becomes quite a claustrophobic affair.


As you can probably tell by my opening paragraph, I’m a big fan of the sequel (yes, I enjoyed the original, but I loved this one even more).  All the necessary characters return and have evolved naturally and, this time round, the emphasis is more on horror/comedy, rather than the more ‘horror-biased’ first outing.  I guess those who prefer straight horror will see that as a negative, but I thought the daftness of the script/premise in general works better with a healthy dose of self-knowing laughs thrown in.  And there are plenty of laughs.


It’s rare that a script works so well as a comedy.  Almost every line is funny and when the script isn’t making me smile then the physical humour is.  Plus the special effects are great.  Yes, you can probably tell now what’s anamatronic and blue-screen, but most effects are ‘practical’ as this was way before CGI became so mainstream.


Every character puts in an excellent performance (special nod to Christopher Lee, doing a rare comedic turn – and nailing it at every turn), but the creatures are definitely the ‘stars.’ They’re worth watching the film for and there are few movies that will appeal to such a wide audience as ‘Gremlins 2: The New Batch.’


If you like comedy-horror and practical effects you really can’t go far wrong with this one.  Watch it quickly before it gets remade with over-the-top computer-generated effects.


9/10 almost as perfect as The Godfather