Gremlins 2: The New Batch is a
1990 American comedy horror film, and a
sequel to
Gremlins (1984). It was directed by
Joe Dante and written by
Charles S. Haas, with creature designs by
Rick Baker. It stars
Zach Galligan,
Phoebe Cates,
John Glover,
Robert Prosky,
Haviland Morris,
Dick Miller,
Jackie Joseph,
Robert Picardo, and
Christopher Lee also
Frank Welker who played Stripe in the first film reprises his role as a gremlin.
The story continues the adventures of the creature Gizmo, who spawns numerous small
monsters when wet. In the first film, Gizmo's offspring had rampaged through a small fictional town. In
Gremlins 2, Gizmo multiplies within a skyscraper in
New York City. The new creatures thus pose a serious threat to the city should they be able to leave the building, and much of the story involves the human characters' efforts to prevent this disaster.
Like the first film,
Gremlins 2 is a
live action comedy-
horror film. However, Dante put effort into taking the sequel in new
anarchic directions. In general, the film is meant to be more
cartoon-like than the darker original, and the violence is fairly
slapstick. There are also a number of
parodies of other films and stories, most notably
Gremlins itself, as well as the
Rambo films,
The Wizard of Oz,
Marathon Man and
The Phantom of the Opera. As with the first film, critical response varied. However, some critics who thought the first film was too dark gave
Gremlins 2 better reviews, but received a colder reception from fans.