[TechniSol]

I think, like most things involving a wide and disparate population, everyone has their own level of comfort regarding such things and much of that may have to do with how drawn into the story and characters they are by the level of writing and character development. If characters are explored, and they resonate with the reader, everything "done to them" will have greater impact. On one hand, done correctly, it can really play on your emotions and your sense of empathy.

If you identify and a character is sketched deeply enough to make you care, even though it is fiction, their struggles resonate. Violence depicted against them can resonate with your sense of identification, and at the same time reinforce your dislike of the brutality inflicted by "the black hat" and add dimension to them. Conversely, violence directed at less developed characters will not carry the same weight, but may again increase the appreciation of how bad the bad guy can be while allowing you enough detachment to focus on the level of heinous behavior or lengths the character will go to justify their actions. I think this goes along with the notion that "everyone is the hero of their own life story." Imagine all the Hannibal Lector stories written from his viewpoint!

All that said, I'm no great slasher film buff and would rather watch a classic horror movie where much time and effort is spent in ramping up the tension rather than just splat, splat, splattering freshly rendered corpses. Ew. I'm from the old school that thinks that your imagination, properly prodded and tweaked, is probably better at delving into darkness than any Hollywood makeup or CGI master yet to come. I think seeing much of the monster prior to about 3/4 of the way in is a mistake. Heinous acts can be portrayed, but leave a little something to the imagination and reveals. If I recall, "Mr. Sardonicus" was a great example of making you wait to see "the monster" revealed even as his evil nature was revealed by his actions throughout the movie.