One way of watering down the effects of violence is to approach it in a more lighthearted way. I don't mean to say that you laugh when somebody has their arm sawn off, but you can diffuse fear with humour.
My favorite part of a roller-coaster ride is when you're going up and you're slightly scared and really excited. You don't know what's coming next but you know it's going to be good. You can't handle it, go on the carousel.