mercenary hunters

His films explore morally ambiguous protagonists driven by greed and self-interest, most notably in Se7en and The Game where hunters become hunted for profit.

He masterfully depicts mercenary violence and revenge-for-hire in films like Oldboy and The Handmaiden, examining the psychological cost of hired killing.

His genre films like Assault on Precinct 13 and In the Mouth of Madness feature protagonists caught in deadly pursuits where survival becomes the ultimate mercenary act.