Movies Like They're Playing with Fire (1984)

They're Playing with Fire is a 1984 crime, horror, thriller film from Howard Avedis with a MovieMagicScore of 5.1/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Knock Knock and Dressed to Kill.

Crime Horror Thriller

Knock Knock

2015

When a devoted husband and father is left home alone for the weekend, two stranded young women unexpectedly knock on his door for help. What starts out as a kind gesture results in a dangerous seduction and a deadly game of cat and mouse.

5.4

MagicScore

Dressed to Kill

1980

After witnessing a mysterious woman brutally slay a homemaker, prostitute Liz Blake finds herself trapped in a dangerous situation. While the police thinks she is the murderer, the real killer is intent on silencing her only witness.

7.0

MagicScore

Lolita

1997

Humbert Humbert is a middle-aged British novelist who is both appalled by and attracted to the vulgarity of American culture. When he comes to stay at the boarding house run by Charlotte Haze, he soon becomes obsessed with Lolita, the woman's teenaged daughter.

7.1

MagicScore

Notes on a Scandal

2006

A veteran high school teacher befriends a younger art teacher, who is having an affair with one of her 15-year-old students. However, her intentions with this new "friend" also go well beyond platonic friendship.

7.1

MagicScore

Possession

1981

A young woman left her family for an unspecified reason. The husband determines to find out the truth and starts following his wife. At first, he suspects that a man is involved. But gradually, he finds out more and more strange behaviors and bizarre incidents that indicate something more than a possessed love affair.

7.3

MagicScore

Homecoming

2009

A jilted ex-girlfriend plots revenge after her former beau comes back to their hometown with a new lover.

6.0

MagicScore

All Ladies Do It

1992

After five years of marriage, Diana discovers the joys of adultery, claiming that she can save her failing relationship through betrayal.

5.0

MagicScore

Wonder Boys

2000

Grady is a 50-ish English professor who hasn't had a thing published in years—not since he wrote his award winning 'Great American Novel' 7 years ago. This weekend proves even worse than he could imagine as he finds himself reeling from one misadventure to another in the company of a new wonder boy author.

6.8

MagicScore

Jamon Jamon

1992

José Luis has a cushy corporate job at the lingerie factory his mom owns. After he falls in love and proposes to Silvia, a beautiful laborer on the underwear assembly line, his mom enlists Raul, a potential underwear model and would-be bullfighter, to seduce Silvia.

6.2

MagicScore

#10

The Voyeur

1994

At a college in Rome, a professor, nicknamed "Dodo" is in a deep depression. His stunningly beautiful wife has just left him for another man. Dodo wants her back very badly and has erotic daydreams about her. A beautiful young student in his class asks him for a ride home and seduces the lucky man, but still he wonders about his wife and her lover.

5.5

MagicScore

#11

Snuff

1976

The followers of a charismatic cult leader set out to murder a pregnant actress.

3.0

MagicScore

#12

The Piano Teacher

2001

Erika Kohut, a sexually repressed piano teacher living with her domineering mother, meets a young man who starts romantically pursuing her.

7.3

MagicScore

#13

Breathless

1983

Jesse, a small-time criminal, high-tails it to Los Angeles to rendezvous with a French exchange student. Stealing a car and accidentally killing a highway patrolman, he becomes the most wanted fugitive in L.A.

5.8

MagicScore

#14

The Man from Earth: Holocene

2017

14,000-year-old "Man from Earth" John Oldman, now teaching in northern California, realizes that not only is he finally starting to age, but four students have discovered his deepest secret, putting his life in grave danger and potentially destroying the world's most popular religion.

5.5

MagicScore

#15

Murder

2004

To escape a secure but stifling life with her workaholic husband Sudhir, bored housewife Simran begins an affair with Sunny, an ex-boyfriend from her college days. However, when Sudhir grows suspicious and hires a private detective, the infidelity soon comes to light.

4.9

MagicScore

#16

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

1966

A history professor and his wife entertain a young couple who are new to the university's faculty. As the drinks flow, secrets come to light, and the middle-aged couple unload onto their guests the full force of the bitterness, dysfunction, and animosity that defines their marriage.

7.7

MagicScore

#17

Passion

2013

The rivalry between the manipulative boss of an advertising agency and her talented protégée escalates from stealing credit to public humiliation to murder.

5.2

MagicScore

#18

Savage Grace

2007

This examination of a famous scandal from the 1970s explores the relationship between Barbara Baekeland and her only son, Antony. Barbara, a lonely social climber unhappily married to the wealthy but remote plastics heir Brooks Baekeland, dotes on Antony, who is homosexual. As Barbara tries to "cure" Antony of his sexuality -- sometimes by seducing him herself -- the groundwork is laid for a murderous tragedy.

5.6

MagicScore

#19

A Fool There Was

1915

John Schuyler, a happily married lawyer, is appointed diplomat and sent to England. Due to an unfortunate accident, his wife and child can not come along with him. On the ship to England, Schuyler meets the notorious Vampire - a relentless gold digger who causes the moral degradation of those she seduces, first fascinating and then draining the very life from her victims.

5.0

MagicScore

#20

Psycho

1960

When larcenous real estate clerk Marion Crane goes on the lam with a wad of cash and hopes of starting a new life, she ends up at the notorious Bates Motel, where manager Norman Bates cares for his housebound mother.

8.4

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like They're Playing with Fire?

The top films similar to They're Playing with Fire by MovieMagicScore are Knock Knock (5.4), Dressed to Kill (7.0), Lolita (7.1). Each shares crime/horror/thriller themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is They're Playing with Fire worth watching?

They're Playing with Fire holds a MovieMagicScore of 5.1/10 from 48 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is They're Playing with Fire?

They're Playing with Fire (1984) is a crime, horror, thriller film directed by Howard Avedis, starring Sybil Danning, Eric Brown, Andrew Prine.

Where can I find more recommendations like They're Playing with Fire?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more crime recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Knock Knock Movies like Dressed to Kill Movies like Lolita Movies like Notes on a Scandal Movies like Possession Movies like Homecoming

About movies like They're Playing with Fire

This ranked list pairs They're Playing with Fire (1984), a crime and horror and thriller film from Howard Avedis, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Sybil Danning take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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