the dream has a mind of it's own
well looks like i'm not the only one who has frequent graphic dreams :banana:
my guess is something(s) are bothering you in your real life.
solution: try to think of pleasant thoughts before bed. listen to soothing music before sleeping too.
however, if you find yourself in a violent dream, it seems like you try to defend. I suggest fighting back. everytime i've tried to simply defend in those kind of dreams i would get overtaken and usually killed. But when i decided to fight back things would always change, sometimes i'd gain complete control over the dream from then on, and even sometimes just command the dream to stop and i'd wake up.
that's my advice.
oh and one more thing, horror movies right before bed is a no-no. Every time i make that mistake i either don't get sleep or i have nightmares (usually involving my in dream death :shock:)