initiation rituals

His films obsessively explore psychological tests and brutal initiations into dark systems, from Fight Club's self-destruction cult to The Game's labyrinthine ritual.

He depicts visceral initiation ordeals through transformation and suffering, most powerfully in Black Swan where a dancer's psychological unraveling becomes a ritualistic metamorphosis.

His horror films foreground ritualistic ceremonies and group initiations as sources of both terror and belonging, culminating in Midsommar's daylight cult initiation spectacle.