Advice on helping with my boyfriend's distress and anxiety

My boyfriend experiences periods of extreme distress and anxiety where his thoughts are overcome every waking hour, he cannot sleep, and he shakes with fear.
The subject of this fear, is horror/slasher/torture films.
Just the mention of these films, or a trailer for one sends him into this state.
Problem is, like many others, I am actually a fan of these films, stuff like 'Saw'. But I would NEVER expect him to watch one with me, and do not flaunt them in front of him. It is beyond his comprehension why anyone would watch them, and view such acts as entertainment....
Please see excerpts of an email from him below...


"But I don’t know how to handle it, and I know that lately I HAVEN’T been handling it."


"I’m also aware that my timing couldn’t POSSIBLY be worse..... But I haven’t been able to contain the tearful stares anymore. You’ve noticed them and you’ve begun asking questions I can’t answer without crying for fear of an argument."


"I know we all have a darker side, (although I’ve kept mine buried under a heap of mellow lately, probably my age and an unwillingness to be miserable), but when I think of you, I see you when you look at me with all the love in the World in your eyes. But lately, when I think of you so sweetly, I’ve been bursting into tears. Alone in my car, alone in my bed…, very nearly in front of you on occasion. That’s how badly this has been playing on my mind. I DON’T want to lose you. Ever. And I’m scared we’ll end up fighting. I’m NOT trying to argue. I’m trying to understand. But the fear of arguing has made it impossible to talk about."


"They say ignorance is bliss. Well, thanks to (name withheld), my ignorance is gone.
I don’t like musicals, murder, or monster films. But in every one of those examples, I can see why people would watch them. Songs, detectives and suspense, and heroes slaying evil creatures. Not my cup of tea, but there are reasons for them all. People hate sci-fi, but everyone agrees that these films speculate on how we might develop, (for better or worse), in the future.
He started telling me about torture films. I asked him not to. I pleaded with him not to, because I knew it’d **** me up. But he did it anyway. He went into explicit detail about how these films generally open with meaningless nudity and porno-style sex. Why? And then he graphically described how for the next hour and a half, characters are brutally, slowly, and degradingly tortured to death, or forced into suicide. So intense were his descriptions that ever since, I’ve been going out of my mind. My consciousness has been scourged. I can’t begin to discuss what he described. It invades my thoughts all day long.
What’s the story about? What’s the point? Are the guilty punished in the end? No, he explained. They just torture people right up to the end of the film. No story. No point. No concluding thoughts. Even horror films have a point. But these?
Is it a test of courage? “I’ve seen Part 1, let’s see if I can handle Part 2”. That’d kind of make sense. I guess I could understand that.
Or is it simple exhilaration at watching someone else being held down, screaming and pleading for mercy while being unspeakably violated with no hope of rescue?
Is it the sex? Is it stimulating? Is it enjoyable to watch? Especially knowing what’s coming next?
I’m not trying to tell ANYONE what they can and can’t watch. I’m trying to understand WHY you’d watch.
While I was able to ignore it, (…”it’s just Lucy’s hobby, no big deal”…)  I was able to keep a handle on it. But since Cliff, I’ve started to lose it and it’s begun affecting me when we’re together..... suddenly you’ll appear in my mind almost getting turned-on as someone is strapped to a chair, begging and screaming as their eyes are pulled out and their bodies drilled. And I lose my passion and almost start crying instead."


Perhaps you get the idea of how deeply he is affected.
It is not normal to be this deeply affected. They're just films, after all, it's not real!
I have no idea what to say or do. I again emphasize that I am discreet with my being a fan of the genre, and my enjoyment of the films is NOT sexual/perverse.

I know this may seem a daft question to put, but I don't know what to do, and am very worried.

Thanks.