They're Playing with Fire (1984) User Reviews

Sybil Danning at her Best

[BloodTheTelepathicDog · 5/10 · 21 October 2010]

This film plays like a B-Film Noir from the 1950s coupled with the steamy erotica of the late night cable channels with some Dr. Giggles thrown in the mix. Needless to say, it was entertaining but in a cheesy, not too high-brow kind of way.

Sybil Danning plays a sexy college professor married to another professor (Andrew Prine)who stands to inherit a sizable sum of money from his mother once she kicks off. The two espousers decide they can't wait for the dough so Sybil urges her obsessed student Eric Brown to assist them in gaining their inheritance. To persuade the young student, Sybil offers him two famous vices: sex and money.

Their plans backfire when mommy proves too much for Eric and chases him off the family estate with a shotgun. As soon as Eric is gone, however, someone else blasts mommy. Eric feels that he is being setup for murder when Prine accuses him of foul deeds, but he can't separate himself from the case due to his attachment to the buxom Miss Danning. The film, which begins as an erotic thriller, then descends into the slasher genre as Eric and Sybil track a masked killer who just might be Sybil's hubby.

STORY: $$$ (Nothing special here--just middle-of-the-road. The characterization could have used more work, as well as the overall plot. There are plenty plot devices that just don't make any sense, like their initial plan to have Eric scare mommy by breaking into her house. I mean, you don't read a will for a frightened dame, so what was going on there?)

ACTING: $$$ (Nothing special here either. Eric Brown seemed out of place in his scenes with Sybil. Not much of an actor, Eric tries to get by on his grin, but fails miserably. Prine does a fine job as Sybil's odious husband while Miss Danning is in good form as the femme fatale).

NUDITY: $$$$$ (This is really the main draw for this film, since it is Sybil at her most obliging. She has a couple shower scenes and three sex scenes. Had there been a better check and balance between the story and Sybil's breast exposure, this could have been a better erotic thriller).

Six stars for the two stars .... Sybil Danning and a French Poodle ........

[merklekranz · 6/10 · 10 September 2019]

No question that "They're Playing With Fire" . has hot, hot, Sybil Danning at her sexiest of any movie she has done. While it's definitely a "B" movie, Sybil's acting is superior to any other humans in the film. Second place goes to a little white dog. The rest of the cast and especially Eric Brown are simply awful. In order to appreciate what is going on here, the film has to be dissected into parts, rather than judged as a whole picture. The sex scenes are terrific, as Sybil seduces Brown, who just lays there like a dead fish. The Mother / Grandmother scenes are fine, with some welcome humor their strongest point. The dog is cute and way smarter than the script. Speaking of the script, it wanders badly from crime drama, to slasher, to ridiculous. If this had been written as black comedy, and the casting of Eric Brown changed to any functioning actor, the film could have become a "B" movie classic. - MERK

80's Trashy fun

[acidburn-10 · 6/10 · 26 October 2013]

After recently viewing this somewhat forgotten 80's trashy movie. That's part mystery thriller, part slasher movie. The plot is quite interesting we get a student named Jay Richards who has an affair with his teacher Diana Stevens (Sybil Danning), but that's not all she and her husband want him to break into his elderly mothers house to scare them and of course that goes wrong when grandma pulls out a rifle and the young student runs away, and no sooner a masked stranger is already in the house ready to kill.

Okay this movie lacks logic and the storyline doesn't really make much sense, but the who dunnit angle does actually work, and I was geniually surprised when the killer is unmasked at the end. And the chemistry between Eric Brown and Sybil Danning was actually believable and spot on, and the sex scenes were probably the best thing about this movie. But there are several bad points to this movie, like for a start the pacing is quick enough and I did find myself getting bored at times and a lot of the performances were awful and the death scenes simply weren't up to scratch, they lacked imagination like the scene where the girl gets hit with a baseball bat, was just painful and not for the right reasons.

But there are a few small blessings in this movie, like Sybil Danning is just simply beautiful and has a gorgeous body, and one of the only cast members to make an actual effort and Eric Brown was okay he had the innocence wide boy routine rather well, despite some rubbish dialogue.

All in all "They're Playing With Fire" is not a terrible movie, in fact I found it quite fun and stupid at the same time, but I couldn't help that feel that if this movie was in more capable hands, then this could have been a hell of a lot better.

...and the audience gets a burn

[bkoganbing · 3/10 · 24 September 2017]

That Eric Brown, what a lucky dude. First in Private Lessons with Sylvia Kristel and then in They're Playing With Fire with Sybil Danning the boy is doing well with the cougars.

However other than those titillating sex scenes there's not much to recommend either film. Danning seduces Brown but that's at the behest of her husband Andrew Prine. They're both tired of sitting around and waiting for his mother and grandmother to die. They want Brown to break in and just scare the two women so they might sell the old mansion and give them some of the loot.

But then some hooded individual comes along and murders the two women and hides the bodies. A few more deaths follow before we learn the truth.

If it weren't for Sybil Danning's body and those two weapons of mass destruction she has interest would be minimal here. If that's your thing go for it.

Sybil Danning's bod, everything else bad

[skad13 · 5/10 · 26 August 1999]

Some of the Database comments on this movie are mind-boggling. In this movie, Danning conspicuously displays what she's best-known for, and it sure ain't her thespian skills, buddy.

Her three sex scenes in the movie are unbelievably enthusiastic and should send most slobbering males to the fast-forward button to find the next such scene. The rest of the movie is a dreary slasher thriller that, most incredulously, even manages a happy ending. You know what level the movie's at when the student whom Danning is deflowering tries to carry on a mundane conversation while this busty vixen is on top

I've seen worse....

[gridoon · 5/10 · 4 August 2001]

The voluptuous Sybil Danning is apparently considered to be the chief attraction of this film for most viewers, but the plot also holds some inherent interest as a murder mystery. Unfortunately, the film is visually ugly and murky, and it's further hampered by a totally arbitrary, out-of-the-blue resolution. (**)

A Sybil Danning sensual tour-de-force

[pacmann · 7/10 · 26 February 2001]

Since her start in the late 1960's, Sybil Danning has been called upon to use her sensuality and statuesque physique to bail out many a "B" movie. No exception here, as the stunning Danning plays a college professor/seductress. The victim is gullible Eric Brown (who's acting abilities resemble those of a 4th grader). The highlight of this movie is the seduction of Brown by Danning in the yacht. Great camerawork and Danning's sensuality in her strip give a scorching rating to a scene that will be relived in the minds of red-blooded males. Her other sex scenes were Brown are equally erotic but that is as good as it gets with this movie. The plot is predictable and the suspense...well...is just not there. A must for all Danning fans though, so you can drool at the sensual charms of this erotic goddess who seems to have saved the face of many an aspiring "B" movie director with her presence.

First Sylvia Kristel, then Sybil Danning - sheesh!

[BA_Harrison · 5/10 · 15 July 2020]

If I'd had a teacher at college who looked like Sybil Danning, I wouldn't have got much work done. Come to think of it, my teacher was a middle-aged man with a beard, and I still didn't get much work done. Aah, those lazy, hazy college days....

Eric Brown plays Jay Richard, the English student who gets to boff his beautiful, busty professor Diana in exchange for doing a few jobs: varnishing her yacht (not a euphemism) and sneaking into the home of her husband's mother and grandmother to scare the old women enough so that Diane and hubbie Michael (Andrew Prine) can be made executors of the estate. As is par for the course in this kind of trash, things don't go according to plan, with a masked murderer on the loose causing all sorts of problems for poor Jay.

The incredible Ms. Danning is the main reason to watch this otherwise lacklustre thriller, the hard-bodied hottie regularly stripping off to give us a good look at her amazing attributes. Without her to steam up the screen, the film would be largely forgettable, with a dumb plot that will have you screaming at Jay throughout, "Go to the police, NOW!" (but bang Diane one last time before you do).

What starts as a saucy slice of teenage wish-fulfilment slowly turns into a sub-standard '80s slasher, with the bodies piling up, and Jay teaming up with Diane to solve the mystery. The killer is fairly unimposing - far removed from unstoppable giants such as Jason and Michael Myers - and has a tendency to speak like Elmo from Sesame Street, which makes him even less scary.

Unmissable stuff for fans of its voluptuous, frequently naked female star, but as a thriller/horror, it's merely passable.

"You're playing with fire Jay"

[lost-in-limbo · 6/10 · 11 July 2010]

But I guess you'd be hard press not to take the risk of getting burnt! "I don't know what he sees in her?" Huh! Well simply who would want to knock back the advancements of the Austrian born blonde buxom Sybil Danning. Oh she sizzles and it's difficult not to ogle, as the director takes every opportunity to focus on her curvy shape in a very desirable manner. Plenty of instances we find Danning in the buff and everything seems to play secondary to her T&A.

The highly attractive English professor Diane Stevens seduces her gullible student Jay in a plan crafted by her husband Michael to inherit his family's fortune. However things turn pear shape when murder becomes apart of it.

In the 80s Eric Red was living every teenage boy's wet dream, as only years before he was getting it on with another European goddess Sylvia Kristel in "Private Lessons". So the hormones go crazy once again. But while the two films share some similarities, "They're Playing with Fire" is less light-headed being a lot more sleazy and spiteful in mixing elements of popular teenage sex comedies and jarring slasher traits. Holding this exploitation together is a deviously plotted murder-mystery soapish narrative. Even with the paranoid reactions, deceitful manipulation and masked intentions where nothing seems quite as it is. It kind of gets obvious just who's behind it due to the minor red herrings and the clues that sprung up, so we're left to hang around to wait for the motivation for the homicidal madness. It's quite overlong in its quest to reach its messy, silly revelation too. As for the shocks they're surprisingly nasty and bloody, but still clumsily handled by director Howard Avedis and the eccentric script consists of plenty sharp stabs of irony. Covering the film's soundtrack is numerous cheese-grated rock ballads with the seductive title song leading the way. The acting is colourful enough; Danning is a talented actress than just a figure and her strong presence shows it. Red is fitting and Andrew Prine is great as her vain husband. Offering fine support are Paul Clemens, K.T Stevens, Dominick Brascia and Alvy Moore.

It's an odd, neurotic and junky combination altogether, but incredibly amusing nonetheless.

"Playing" around....

[Mister-6 · 1/10 · 4 October 1999]

Lucky guy, this Eric Brown.

First, he gets de-flowered by Sylvia Kristel (Emmannuelle herself) in "Private Lessons", and then is floored by the charms of Sybil Danning in this movie.

Talk about being born under a lucky sign.

Observant people will tell you that only Danning's scenes give this flick any merit. And they're right: as predatory as ever, Danning exudes sex and sensuality as a college professor (only in Hollywood) who tricks student Brown into killing a relative so she and he can run off with her inheritance. Of course, someone else is knocking off everybody left and right....

I'm sorry, you care about the plot? Well, don't. This is not a plot-driven story, as if you haven't figured that out already. If you can't figure out who is doing the killing, get a new hobby. Or better yet, just concentrate on Sybil.

Maybe even think about how lucky that Eric Brown guy is.

One star. Anyone who is a Sybil Danning fan will tell you: fast-forward through everything else but her in "They're Playing with Fire". Otherwise, you'll get burned.

Sybil Danning Enough Said

[Digger-12 · 10/10 · 2 February 2003]

Sybil Danning is the most beautiful woman who ever lived. Seeing this movie and the bikini and seduction scenes is enough to make any man throw away his viagra. He will no longer need it. This is a must see movie for any man.

A clever plot a cat and mouse game of drama, and suspense yet the eye candy treat is the knockout Sybil Danning!

[blanbrn · 7/10 · 19 November 2017]

This film "They're Playing with Fire" is really a pretty decent B movie as it does have a story and plot twist that's filled with drama and suspense and it's topped off with eye candy and cake icing with erotic scenes from the sexy Sybil! The story is that of two college professors the female being(Sybil)and she seduces one of her young innocent students(Eric Brown)as part of a plot to frame him for the murders of her well to do in-laws. Yet this plan and plot doesn't go as planned it's now a tangled web of deceit, nothing and no one is who they appear.

Along the way despite the blood and violence the screen is spiced up with plenty of skin and sexy nude scenes and love making bed encounters with the sexy B queen goddess miss Sybil(also she's stunning in a black bra!). Overall well done film that's carried by Sybil so if it's your thing give this a watch.

They're not playing with a good script

[movieman_kev · 2/10 · 31 May 2007]

Sybil Danning is an extremely stunning sight to behold when she's wearing just a smile, sure, but there's only so much so can do when saddled with an abysmal script (and that's 90% of her career's work). There's no question that she makes unwatchable films watchable. This time around she plays Diane. a teacher who wants her husband's parents money, but that won't happen until his mom and aunt are either dead or declared incompetent (the latter is kinda like the makers of this film). Enter Private Lessons' Eric Brown as Jay, a college student who's more gullible than a fifth grader (if that) and plans to scare the old women, but there's a 'mystery' serial killer at work. As I said before Danning is the ONLY reason for someone to watch this (and even then only when it's on cable, as it's not worth renting). The character's lack any kind of spark, the plot is very weak, and for a thriller, it's not in the least bit thrilling. Also the powers that be seemed to openly want to sabotage the film as with the amount of chances to get Sybil fully nude, they go to great lengths to not show her fourth acting talent, her tits and ass being the first three, so you know where I'm going with that one. Stick with a better Sybil film such as Chained Heat or Malibu Express instead

Eye Candy: Sybil Danning shows T&A multiple times, Suzanne Kennedy'shows her right breast briefly

My Grade: D

Sybil Danning's bod; everything else bad

[busterbuff61 · 5/10 · 10 January 2013]

I have what I call "The Adrienne Barbeau Theorem," which is as follows: Big breasts, in and of themselves, are not enough reason to watch a terrible movie. Ironically, there are two movies that strongly test my theorem, and one of them is Adrienne Barbeau's "Swamp Thing." The other is an abysmal '80s slasher flick titled "They're Playing with Fire." Sybil Danning plays an English professor (so much for realism) who seduces one of her young students (Eric Brown) in order to make him a patsy in a murder plot in which she's involved. Despite its familiar ring, this plot line is several generations (not to mention quality points) removed from "Double Indemnity" and its ilk. In fact, the movie's slasher motif is so sordid, even for this genre, that it's painful to watch. The movie would be deservedly forgotten, were it not for Danning's astounding sex scenes.

These scenes, particularly the first one, are as jaw-dropping as anything you're likely to see in a mainstream, R-rated movie. While not as anatomically graphic as your average porn video, Danning in the altogether amply displays enough, er, enthusiasm to get her point across. In fact, she's so enthusiastic, you lose any sympathy for the kid she's seducing. Here's this gorgeous, buxom blonde twisting the night away on top of him, and he can't think of anything better to do than *make conversation* with her! Obviously, the kid needs an education in more than English.

Other than the all-too-brief scenes in which Danning demonstrates why a date with her would fetch a small fortune on an auction block, the movie's only element of interest is in seeing Alvy Moore, who played Hooterville county agent Hank Kimball on TV's "Green Acres," hitting a career low as a gas-station manager who's dumb enough to hire and re-hire the kid as an attendant even after he's dumped the job on the promise of some loot from Danning's English professor. The only thing that could have made this movie more bad-memorable would be to pair Danning with fluttery Hank Kimball: "Welcome to Hootersville, I mean Hooterville! Sorry, I was blinded by your headlights, I mean my car headlights. The car is strangely stacked, I mean built, I mean..."

Awful But So Weird You Must See It

[Michael_Elliott · 4 February 2018]

They're Playing with Fire (1984)

* (out of 4)

Married college professor Diane Stevens (Sybil Danning) seduces her student Jay (Eric Brown) and then asks him to do a favor for her and her husband Michael (Andrew Prine). Before long the husband's rich mother and grandmother are dead and Jay feels that they set him up.

THEY'RE PLAYING FOR FIRE is one of those movies that you should start around one thirty in the morning. You know, just when you're starting to get tired but you want to watch something. This is without question one of the strangest movies I've seen from this era and especially since it really doesn't know what it wants to do. I became aware of the movie thanks to a review by Roger Ebert where he pretty much went off on the picture and it's easy to see why he would.

The film starts off like a teen sex comedy where the sexy teachers seduces the boy. We then get a couple really graphic murders and the film turns into a murder mystery. As the movie plays out there's a hooded killer going around killing people in some rather graphic ways so out of nowhere this film turns into a slasher and you'll be surprised at how much blood the film got pass the MPAA. This film really is all over the map in terms of what it's trying to do but those who enjoy horror films will want to count this one as a slasher.

The film is pretty darn bad but thankfully it's so weird and bizarre that you can't help but keep watching. Danning appears naked throughout 40% of the movie and that alone makes it worth watching. If you didn't see enough of her in HOWLING II: YOUR SISTER IS A WEREWOLF then you'll be happy to know that there's even more nudity here. Prine is good in his role as the husband but it's always nice seeing him. The real problem with the cast is Brown. He's just not all that interesting. I'm not sure if the director made him give this type of performance or what but it makes for a very shallow and very boring character. Just look at how nervous and awkward he appears to be during the sex scenes!

THEY'RE PLAYING WITH FIRE really is a lousy movie but it has enough nudity and enough blood to make it worth viewing.

Sybil Danning's bod; everything else bad

[skad13 · 5/10 · 28 March 2002]

I have what I call "The Adrienne Barbeau Theorem," which is as

follows: Big breasts, in and of themselves, are not enough reason to

watch a terrible movie. Ironically, there are two movies that strongly

test my theorem, and one of them is Adrienne Barbeau's Swamp Thing (see

my Epinions review). The other is an abysmal '80s slasher flick titled

They're Playing with Fire.

Sybil Danning plays an English professor (so much for realism) who

seduces one of her young students (Eric Brown) in order to make him a

patsy in a murder plot in which she's involved. Despite its familiar

ring, this plotline is several generations (not to mention quality

points) removed from Double Indemnity and its ilk. In fact, the movie's

slasher motif is so sordid, even for this genre, that it's painful to

watch. The movie would be deservedly forgotten, were it not for

Danning's astounding sex scenes.

These scenes, particularly the first one, are as jaw-dropping as

anything you're likely to see in a mainstream, R-rated movie. While not

as anatomically graphic as your average porn video, Danning in the

altogether amply displays enough, er, enthusiasm to get her point

across. In fact, she's so enthusiastic, you lose any sympathy for the

kid she's seducing. Here's this gorgeous, buxom blonde twisting the

night away on top of him, and he can't think of anything better to do

than *make conversation* with her! Obviously, the kid needs an education

in more than English.

Other than the all-too-brief scenes in which Danning demonstrates why a

date with her would fetch a small fortune on an auction block, the

movie's only element of interest is in seeing Alvy Moore, who played

Hooterville county agent Hank Kimball on TV's "Green Acres,"

hitting a career low as a gas-station manager who's dumb enough to hire

and re-hire the kid as an attendant even after he's dumped the job on

the promise of some loot from Danning's English professor. The only

thing that could have made this movie more bad-memorable would be to

pair Danning with fluttery Hank Kimball: "Welcome to Hootersville,

I mean Hooterville! Sorry, I was blinded by your headlights, I mean my

car headlights. The car is strangely stacked, I mean built, I

mean..."

The lingering effects of this movie . . .

[vosska0630 · 3/10 · 31 December 2006]

Nearly 23 years later, my sister and I still have nightmares of this movie. I vaguely remember the sex. We were so afraid watching this slasher flick, that the very words in the title still bring chills to both of us. I've only seen one other movie in my lifetime that evokes that kind of creeped-out fear. It took us both years to face the Christmas holiday time without being terrorized by Santa (see the movie and you'll know what I mean!) Morbid curiosity kept out TV set on, but mental pictures have kept the movie with us. Even after seeing all the Scream movies, I still haven't experienced that level of terror. Eric Brown will forever be remembered synonymously with fear and killing!

Teen movie turned giallo?

[BandSAboutMovies · 6/10 · 11 April 2019]

Hikmet Avedis was the director of 1974's The Teacher. Howard Avedis is the director of this film (as well as Mortuary). They're similar films. And the same person. So there you go.

This movie is all about Jay (Eric Brown, Private Lessons), who gets caught up in a film noir-like murder mystery. And see, you thought that this was going to be all about teen comedies and not death! Wrong!

What sold me on this movie were the two leads: Andrew Prine (The Town that Dreaded Sundown, Simon King of the Witches) and Sybil Danning (Battle Beyond the Stars). They're a married couple who want to get his mom into a retirement home, but things go wrong and she gets killed. Jay gets way too deep into their affairs, but look: if you were a 19-year-old college kid and Sybil Danning regularly rumbusticating you, chances are you'd do anything she asked.

This movie has a lot in it, to tell the truth. It's somewhat a sex comedy. It's sometimes a slasher, like when a hidden Santa Claus beats a woman with a baseball bat. It's got Dominick Brascia in it, who played the candy bar eating heavy guy in Friday the 13th: A New Beginning. It's got Alvy Moore in it, who was Hank Kimball on TV's Green Acres. It was the best role Sybil ever through she acted in. And by the end of the movie, it's become a giallo complete with a room full of horrific artwork, dead bodies and a secret sibling!

Despite the tagline, "From his French maid, he got Private Lessons. Now his English professor is giving him a REAL education," this is not a sequel to that film. Also: I kind of hate Eric Brown, as he got to do love scenes with both Sybil and Sylvia Kristel. That's kind of getting way too much out of your life. No one deserves that much.

Scooby Doo Meets Softcore Noir-Fatale.

[torrascotia · 3/10 · 11 March 2019]

The cover of this movie gives the impression this is one of those 1980s student gets seduced by teacher movies, you know the ones they made before teachers were jailed predatory behaviour? Well this isnt a comedy as such but that doesnt make it any less ridiculous. The story starts off with what the cover implies, a teacher student seduction which takes place on a huge yatch, these college lecturers must be getting overpaid. What is so strange about this is that there is very little lead up and the student doesn't question why this middle aged married woman wants sex and acts like there are no strings attached. The film then shifts into a low rent Shannon Tweed B movie Film Noir mode for the next hour. We have the seductress and her husband plotting to exploit the student, however their plan ends in disaster and its unclear just who is pulling the strings. The main attraction of this movie seems to be the actress who does the seduction, and for her fans she strips off at every opportunity. The thing is by todays standards she isnt that hot nor much of an actress. Think Kelly Le Brocks blonde sister but without the pout. This is quite a boring movie with annoying actors for leads and will only really appeal to guys who are fans of Sybil whoever she used to be. The final act however is beyond parody, it goes all Scooby Doo and Friday the 13th in equal measure. Then for some reason slips back into 1980s horny teacher student fantasy at the end. Its a disjointed mess of a movie which switches tone and genre so fast towards the end you will think back to the poster and think, thats not what I signed up for. I watch bad movies so you don't have to.

Sybil Danning in one of her best roles

[Malodramatic · 6/10 · 19 December 1998]

The statuesque Sybil Danning dominates this rather poor film of murder and intrigue.

Who could not be impressed at the skilful way she manipulates one of her students, played by Eric Brown onto her luxury cruiser in order to overwhelm him in a way only she can manage.

Ultimately, Miss Danning is the only good thing in this film as the poorly scripted plot spirals out of control. It fails to convince in almost every department of a thriller.

Bad, dumb and ultimately pointless.

[dave13-1 · 3/10 · 12 April 2012]

Eric Brown became famous for about a week and half back in the 80s thanks to an appearance in the Sylvia Kristel comedy Private Lessons, where he plays a student who gets involved with his much older French tutor. Here he plays a student who gets involved with the much older wife of his English professor. Such acting range this kid had! Anyway, the two of them sneak around behind the prof's back for the first third of the movie and then the producers must have realized that there was no plot going on, and so bodies start showing up for no reason and the cops focus on the kid, also for no reason. Seriously, this is one truly brain dead attempt at writing either a murder thriller or an erotic melodrama, but not both, since it never manages to be both at the same time. The performances are just as bad as the script, with Eric Brown looking lost and amateurish, movie veteran Andrew Prine (who plays the prof) looking embarrassed, and Sybil Danning looking once again like a great chest with no acting talent attached, which continued to be true over her long and stinky career. She and Eric have less on-screen chemistry than Greg Evigan had with his chimp co-star in B.J. and the Bear. The whodunnit solution, when it comes, makes much LESS sense than usual for a bad 80s killer thriller, and we grade most of those on a curve already. In addition to crappy dramatics, bad plotting and mind-craggling dialog, the pacing is sluggish, plus the look is cheap and sometimes even grainy. When you find yourself wondering whether the producers were even willing to pay for new film stock or did they buy leftovers, you know you are not in the hands of anybody soon to be named president of the Screen Director's Guild.

This is just bad. Not fun bad, not so bad it's funny, just plain old who made this incompetent crap bad. Avoid at all costs.

Sybil Danning sizzles in this deliciously cheesy slasher murder thriller item

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 10 June 2007]

Cunning and enticing college English professor Diane Stevens (the ever luscious Sybil Danning at her all-time hottest) seduces gawky, naive student Jay Richard (the hopelessly geeky Eric Brown of "Private Lessons" fame) so she can use him as a patsy for an intricate scheme to inherit a sizable sum of money from her wealthy in-laws. However, a vicious mystery killer gums things up to an alarming degree. Director/co-writer Howard Avedis concocts a really strange and sordid blend of your standard silly teen sexploitation romp (the sleazy soft-core sex scenes are genuinely steamy stuff) and more mean-spirited slasher horror schlock (the scene where the psycho dressed as Santa beats a luckless lady's head in with a baseball bat is truly jolting). The cool supporting cast includes Andrew Prine as Diane's jerky husband Michael, Paul ("The Beast Within") Clemens as Jay's amiable college roommate Martin "Bird" Johnson, Alvy ("Green Acres") Moore as cranky gas station owner Jimbo, and K.T. Stevens as Michael's bitchy mother Linda. Moreover, this picture deserves extra kudos for getting right to the point: a mere eight minutes into the film Sybil removes her top and bares her beautiful bountiful breasts. Gary Graver's crisp, handsome cinematography, several tacky rock songs blaring away on the soundtrack, John Cacavas' thrashin' rock score, a few ugly murder set pieces, and Danning's awesomely abundant eye-popping nudity further enhance the delectably cheesy charm of this vintage 80's exploitation junk.

Unremarkable Sex Comedy/Mystery

[rickypeters-49138 · 6/10 · 5 August 2019]

Trashy thriller about a young man who has an affair with his teacher (the incredibly sexy Sybil Danning) who persuades him to do some of the stupidest things of all time which ends up getting him into serious trouble and in the line of fire for a crazed killer.

They're Playing With Fire seems like a movie where someone lost a bet or got drunk and/or high and came up with the plot in the span of two hours. It's like what would happen if someone pitched that Private Lessons, Body Heat, Friday the 13th, and Risky Business belong in a mash up together. Some elements work better than others - the trashy sex scenes are appropriately erotic and fans of Sybil's Dannings will find a lot to enjoy during those bits and some of the mystery plot threads can entertain a bit.

It's not a hate-able movie, but it's not very memorable either.

If playing with fire means fondling Sybil Danning, then I'd love to get burned!

[Coventry · 6/10 · 28 August 2023]

What a curious yet delicious dish of cinematic 80s stew this is! The title and cover image, and the first ten to fifteen minutes, raise the impression that "They're Playing with Fire" is a typically early 80s naughty comedy - like "¨Porky's" or "Joysticks" - with the perfectly cast Sybil Danning in the role of her life as teacher/cougar seducing her empty-headed & hormone-overloaded students. Danning, as the feisty Mrs. Diane Stevens, lures lucky lad Jay to her yacht and shows him a piece of heaven, but obviously she and her sneaky husband have a secret agenda. Jay must scare the husband's mother and grandmother in their own house, so that he and Diane can take over the ginormous estate. Things go wrong. They always do...

When Jay tries to accomplish was Mrs. Stevens physically persuaded him to do, the film abruptly turns into a vicious slasher! A rather brutal one with Italian Giallo-characteristics, I may add, because the first two murders are quite nasty. After that, the plot bounces back and forth without a clear direction. New characters and sub plots are added, only to get killed again, and the end-twist is ridiculously simple to guess. In fact, there's only stable factor in the whole film: Sybil Danning takes her clothes off at least once every ten minutes, whether to toy around with Jay or to randomly jump into the shower. And it is irrelevant information, I know, but her body a masterpiece on itself.

By no means great cinema, but very entertaining and warmly recommended to fans of 80s pulp. "They're Playing with Fire" has a corny title-song, dim-witted supportive characters (including chubby classmate and blockhead gas station owner), and a French Poodle who thinks he's a Doberman. The killer is also a unique piece of work, I must say. He/she dresses up like Santa Claus even though there's nothing else to indicate that the film is set around Christmas, and at a certain point he/she starts talking with the voice of a cartoon figure for no apparent reason. Only in the eighties!

According to IMDb - and IMDb never lies - this is a loose remake of writer/director Howard Avedis' own 1974 flick "The Teacher". I have that one laying around in my collection as well, and will give it top priority now.

Hot Mess

[alwaysandy · 6/10 · 29 October 2020]

With Sybil Danning as Diane, the sexy wife, Andrew Prine as Michael, the scheming husband and some unknown hot guy as Jay the naive seductee, this plot-heavy thriller would have worked well. Unfortunately, in the role of the seductee is Eric Brown, innocuous, of little stature and less sexual appeal. Because the relationship between Diane and Jay is so implausible, the viewer becomes distracted, trying to figure out how so beautiful and desirable a woman could develop a co-dependent crush on this trifling youth. But onward. Michael has conceived a plan to frighten his mother and grandmother out of the family mansion and into assisted living so he and Diane can gain control of not only the house but the family fortune as well. Jay, suborned by Diane's charms, agrees to do the frightening but, through clumsiness, fails. To massage his bruised ego, he becomes rude and insolent not only to Michael but Diane also, whom he accuses of "using" him. Jay pouts. Murders occur. The already-thick plot thickens. From this point on, Diane appears at pains to regain Jay's goodwill and the story turns and twists its labyrinthine way to an unbelievable conclusion. Despite the film's shortcomings, anyone who can suspend disbelief for awhile will likely find this an entertaining time waster. Prine and Danning are excellent and Paul Clemens, in a pivotal supporting role, adds to the suspense. The sumptuous locales are beautifully photographed; sets have luxurious appointments and there are nice cars and great clothes. If nothing else it's a treat for the eyes.