Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

They're Playing with Fire Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf March 18, 2017

Perhaps trying to reignite the flames of teenage lust, co-writer/director Howard Avedis returns diminutive actor Eric Brown to the screen in 1984’s “They’re Playing with Fire,” which follows his success in 1981’s “Private Lessons.” Once again casting Brown as boy experiencing a sexual awakening at the hands of an older woman, Avedis makes a wise choice in casting. Not with Brown, but co-star Sybil Danning, who possesses a pronounced aura of sexuality that turns certain sections of the film into 3-D, making an appealing focal point for the picture, which often needs all the distractions it can find. A curious combination of Hitchcock and “Friday the 13th,” “They’re Playing with Fire” arranges vivid excursions into sex and violence, playing up its soft-core attitude with gore zone visits and a screenplay (co-written by Avedis’s spouse, Marlene Schmidt) that goes from appealingly straightforward to bewildering as the story unfolds, requiring Danning to disrobe just to maintain cabin pressure in this weirdo thriller tailor-made for late night cable showings.

Diane (Sybil Danning) and her husband, Michael (Andrew Prine), have a problem with his mother and grandmother, who insist on remaining alive, making possession of their wealthy estate impossible to achieve. Cooking up a plan to terrify the senior citizens out of their mansion, Michael urges Diane to seduce one of her college students, with the professor zeroing in on Jay (Eric Brown), an apple-cheeked kid with money woes who agrees to help his highly attractive teacher with varnishing duties on her yacht. Successfully luring him into bed, Jay becomes powerless to Diane’s charms, willing to enter the mansion and cause some trouble. However, the plan goes awry, and a mysterious figure ends up murdering the old ladies, with Michael pinning the crime on Jay. Refusing to buckle under pressure, Jay tries to keep his options open as Diane reworks her game of seduction and Michael grows jealous, thoroughly complicating a simple plan of terror to help acquire a fortune.

“They’re Playing with Fire” is well aware of audience expectations, and it only takes a single minute of screen time before Danning shows up in a bikini. Heck, the film has barely even started before Diane brings Jay below deck to plan varnish work in the yacht’s bedroom, losing the aforementioned swimwear entirely. While nudity isn’t the sole component of the effort, bare skin is important to Avedis, who keeps Danning frequently topless or clad in revealing clothing, though, curiously, the production only has the basic concept of sex, with poor Jay a virgin who hit the jackpot in terms of willing partners, but often treats Diane’s body like he’s approaching a sleeping grizzly bear.

The feature toys with fantasies of seduction and permission, and Diane and Jay have multiple moments where they engage in bedroom play, trying to steam up an otherwise macabre mystery that plants a question mark over the identity of killer responsible for offing Michael’s mother and grandmother. The script dishes up some red herrings, including George (Gene Bicknell), a highly aware gardener who tails Diane during her daily adventures, and there’s Cynthia (Beth Schaffel), Jay’s supremely jealous ex-girlfriend, who’s perfectly willing to ruin the boy’s reputation at school in a bid to win him back. Cynthia hasn’t thought her plan through. Of course, Michael is also a person of interest, finding Diane’s loving spouse growing increasingly uncomfortable with the time she spends with her student, also taking up surveillance to keep tabs on his possibly duplicitous wife.

As for Diane, “They’re Playing with Fire” seems certain of her innocence, refusing to taint the lady’s appeal as a bronze sex goddess by sticking her with suspicion. Danning really comes off the best in the movie, delivering a capable performance that balances lustful displays with more authoritarian scheming, doing wonders to make Brown digestible. He can’t act, but he’s credible as a hornball dim-wit caught in a terrible situation, though the script’s attempts to butch Jay up with argumentative behavior and gunplay are unintentionally hilarious, with Brown barely able to climb Danning, much less clutch a rifle with any authority. Performances tend to come secondary in a picture like “They’re Playing with Fire,” but the cast manages just fine, with Prine bringing some necessary panic to the effort, helping to inspire some suspense as Michael loses patience with the scheme.

Also of interest in the feature’s aggressive appetites, eschewing a regal overview of murderous events to sample unexpectedly robust violence, watching victims endure stabbing and shootings, which trigger gushing wounds. Trying to play into slasher cinema trends, Avedis doesn’t quite find the proper tone that welcomes graphic killings, but there’s some value in excess, watching “They’re Playing with Fire” make a mess of things with crude make-up work and extreme body trauma.

They're Playing with Fire Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

"Newly mastered in HD," "They're Playing with Fire" is finally ready for Blu-ray, previously regulated to iffy VHS and DVD distribution. The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation is satisfactory, delivering a fulfilling look at the softly shot feature with adequate clarity. Detail is passable but not remarkable, providing a view of luxurious locations and the actors, with Danning's obvious screen emphasis coming through. Costuming retains some fibrous texture, and close-ups deliver acceptable facial particulars. Distances are preserved. Primaries are appealing, looking secure, emerging from fashion choices, street signage, and greenery. Ample skintones are natural, with Danning retaining her golden appearance. Delineation is comfortable. Source is in good condition, without overt points of damage. Mild judder is periodically detected.

They're Playing with Fire Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix shows some heft, especially with soundtrack cuts, finding music loud and commanding, with appealing instrumentation, also delivering some percussive heft. Scoring also finds appropriate placement, supporting without overwhelming, offering more of a cooler synth presence. Dialogue exchanges are clear, without distortion, handling surges in excitement and limitations in production audio. Atmospherics are limited, but outdoor activity registers as intended.

They're Playing with Fire Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview (18:25, HD) with Sybil Danning is an extremely candid conversation with the actress, who's open about her slight disappointment with "They're Playing with Fire." Hired due to the popularity of her Playboy photo spread, Danning admits finding the screenplay "convoluted" (that's being kind), and wishes her character was a stronger woman, reflecting her 1980s career trajectory as a sex bomb who can handle herself with a gun. Danning also voices thinly veiled contempt for co-star Brown, who, hilariously, objected to the sex scenes in the movie, displaying repulsion understandably alien to his co-star. Danning is kinder to actor Andrew Prine, who was considerably more professional and playful, and she offers a loving tribute to cinematographer Gary Graver, who worked with Orson Welles and knew how to shoot a woman flatteringly. Danning is wildly entertaining here, offering ideal honesty and perspective for "They're Playing with Fire," making the film far more interesting to watch.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (1:25, HD) is included.

They're Playing with Fire Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"They're Playing with Fire" indulges camp on occasion (after secretly and silently entering the mansion's basement, Jay immediately knocks down a suit of armor), and its depth of characterization goes full cartoon with Dale (Greg Kaye), Jay's overweight friend who's always craving something to eat. The picture also a major problem with its resolution, which is perplexing, contorting a simple plan of troublemaking into a climax that requires multiple rewatches to even begin to make sense, taking one too many logic leaps just to maintain surprise. Despite a great number of faults, "They're Playing with Fire" is rarely dull, which is high praise for a feature like this. It always comes through with something either salacious or sinister to hold attention, keeping up with B-movie demands, wisely arming itself with plenty of Sybil Danning to aid overall digestion.