Gremlins 2: The New Batch

Gremlins 2: The New Batch is a 1990 American comedy horror film and the sequel to Gremlins (1984). It was directed by Joe Dante with a screenplay by Charles S. Haas and creature designs by Rick Baker. Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Dick Miller, Jackie Joseph and Keye Luke reprise their roles from the first film; Belinda Balaski also returns, this time playing a different character. New cast members include John Glover, Robert Prosky, Haviland Morris, Robert Picardo and Christopher Lee; additionally, the film features Tony Randall providing the voice of one of the gremlins. It continues the story of the mogwai Gizmo (voiced again by Howie Mandel), who spawns more of his kind that eventually become the eponymous monsters when wet. Whereas the first film depicted the gremlins wreaking havoc on the town of Kingston Falls, The New Batch has them spawn from Gizmo within a skyscraper in New York City after his owner dies. These new gremlins thus pose a dire threat to the city should they be able to leave the building and the story revolves around the human characters' efforts to prevent this disaster.

Like the first film, Gremlins 2: The New Batch is a live-action horror comedy film; however, Dante put effort into taking the sequel in new anarchistic directions. Dante created the film to act almost as a facsimile of the original film, and it is meant to be more cartoonish and less dark than the original. Its violence leans more towards slapstick, so the film received a PG-13 rating by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). There are also a number of parodies of other forms of popular culture, including the Rambo franchise, The Wizard of Oz, Marathon Man and The Phantom of the Opera. When released into theaters on June 15, 1990, Gremlins 2: The New Batch received generally positive reviews and grossed $41.5 million on a budget of $30–50 million. Since its release, Gremlins 2: The New Batch has developed a strong cult following.