Scarier for Men?

Rating: 7/10 (11 December 2016)

I remember watching Paranormal Activity with my sister and her friend during high school. Yes, they were fairly scared during the film, but nothing compared to how effected I was. I couldn't even sleep in my own bed that night. Any other horror movies I watched I easily laughed off and got on with my life. I wondered what was so different about this one. While asking around, I realized how many of my male best friends were legitimately scared by this film compared to others. Paranormal Activity challenges its male viewers more than its women viewers by introducing an unwinnable situation that takes the power away from the masculine.
A simple summary of the basic plot: a wife is being threatened by this invisible, other-worldly being whose increasing power begins to take over her body. Her husband, filming the entire ordeal, vocally contests it and attempts numerous times to fight it. Eventually losing, the wife becomes completely possessed and murders her husband.
So what makes this different from most horror movies? Firstly, the antagonist of the film seems virtually unstoppable. It is somewhat physical and never actually shows what it looks like (all we know is that it has claws). This expands the imagination for both the characters and the viewers. Throughout the entire movie, there are several attempts to stop this thing but none of them are even remotely successful.
Then, we have the husband we must analyze at a strictly primal level. As the male, it is engrained in us to protect our mate from any threats. Through this natural kind of thinking, it is assumed that all threats are somehow beatable (a bear, the cold, etc.) but this demon breaks the bounds of nature and frequently demonstrates its invincibility. This is incredibly emasculating to the husband, and through him, the male audience.
Men, at their most primitive nature, are intended to safeguard the women and provide for them. Any hopelessness in that sort of category can make a man fearful. This is why serial killer movies tend to resonate more for women rather than men. The males, although probably unrealistic, believe that the serial killer, as a human, is physically beatable. They convince themselves that in the character's shoes, they would come out alive and on top. It is less plausible, however, when squaring up against an unstoppable and intangible demonic presence. This is, of course, entirely theory and does not encompass all male and female mindsets.