Why some people tolerate horror movies better than others

• In fact, horror is a top genre for Latino moviegoers.
• My favorite films are cult classics like "Scream" and "Halloween" and pretty much anything Jordan Peele creates.

Why it matters: Whether a scary movie makes you feel good or bad depends largely on your early experiences and the context of feeling that intensity, Axios' Carly Mallenbaum writes.

How it works: A perceived threat — like a jump scare — can activate the body's automatic fight-or-flight response.

Between the lines: The physical sensation of your pulse racing and your body's stress response taking over can range from feeling awesome or awful, depending on your perspective.

• If as a child you dressed up with friends, ate candy and went to Halloween events, "you've got lots of these different environmental context cues that tell you that in this situation, [the fear response] feels good," says sociologist and author Margee Kerr.

Yes, but: If you had a similar physiological response in the past to a truly life-threatening situation, you might want to avoid being scared at all costs, she says.

The bottom line: Something that can help if you do feel uncomfortable: holding someone's hand.

• Research suggests that when loved ones hold hands, loud sounds and stressful situations don't seem as bad.
• "You even get a benefit when it's a stranger … just skin-to-skin contact is so powerful," Kerr says.