James Balmont
James Balmont is a freelance journalist based in London, whose work has been published by The Guardian, BBC Culture, Sight & Sound and more. He specialises in coverage of contemporary East Asian cinema, and has previously worked as a music reporter for outlets including NME and Crack Magazine.
Kaiju Battle Royale: Who is Japan’s Most Formidable Giant Monster?
Mothra vs Gamera vs King Ghidorah? They're all competitors in our rundown of Japanese monster films battling to be the best kaiju!
Eight unlikely adventures of the Japanese salaryman
We look at 8 films that examine the Japanese salaryman - a character that personifies the work culture of Japan and is often subverted in film.
Battle Royale: the sum of all conflicts
Battle Royale may have been the last film from director Kinji Fukasaku but the themes of his best work remained constant throughout his output.
Snake Girls, Spirals and Slit-Mouthed Killers: a History of Twisted Manga Adaptions
We look at 7 film adaptions that originally came from Manga and assess how these disturbing tales of horror were converted to the silver screen.
How Teruo Ishii Became Japan's Ero Guro King
With his combination of eroticism and violence, Japanese director Teruo Ishii became the leading name in the Ero Guro genre.