[UPDATED] In Memoriam: Pearry Reginald Teo (1978-2023)
Article update as of March 12, 2023: Italia Gandolfo, who represented Pearry Teo, confirmed the filmmaker’s death on Thursday March 9, in and Sunday report published by The Hollywood Reporter‘s Mike Barnes. The cause of death remains unknown.
Originally published March 10, 2023: Filmmaker and actor Pearry Reginald Teo has died at the age of 44. The details of his death are unknown as of late Friday as word began circulating through the posts of mutual friends sending their condolences via his personal Facebook page.
Teo was always an interesting filmmaker to follow in the 20+ years I’ve followed his work. I firstly learned of him through the official trailer release of his 2009 sci-fi action thriller The Gene Generation starring Bai Ling.
My connection with Teo on social media lasted almost a decade with us both chatting once in a blue moon. I’ve had the privilege of learning details about a few of his projects over the years including martial arts thriller, Shadow Master, starring D.Y. Sao (with whom he paired up with prior on DMX starrer, Fast Vengeance), as well as an idea for an adaptation of hit fighting game IP, Tekken, which would’ve harnessed the darker, more supernatural elements and aspects of the story, something that Teo anchored well into his own directorial approach. A partial statement via his official website below dives into his creative vision in cinema:
The reasons my film tend to have a darker edge, is that I always am a firm believer that nothing is greater than the mind of the audience. I feel like showing them everything hinders their imagination. The darkness always proves to be more interesting. People are scared of the darkness because their mind tend to wander off into negative collective thoughts. They think about evil things in the dark, because they assume that just because they don’t know or can’t see what’s on the other side, there is an automatic assumption that it is evil. Well, pity them… they are missing out on a lot.
Teo applied these concepts amply throughout his career in horror direction, with credits partly including his multi-award-winning 2002 short, Liberata Me, and features like The Assent and The Curse Of Sleeping Beauty to name a few. One of his last completed works, upcoming comedy How to Make a Deal with the Devil, listed as being in post-production, and starring Shannon Doherty, Matthias Hues, and Anna Harr.
The details of Teo’s passing are currently pending and will be updated above the text of this initial article with timestamps if notices and announcements are made public. A retraction or removal will be made upon request from reps of the family if necessary.
Our sincerest condolences go out to friends and family.
Feel free to enjoy some of his past music video content and other materials on his old YouTube channel, and get to know a little bit of him via Asians On Film in the embeds below.
Native New Yorker. Lover of all things pizza, chocolate, pets, and good friends. Karaoke hero. Left of center. Survivor. Fond supporter of cult, obscure and independent cinema - especially fond of Asian movies and global action cinema. Author of the bi-weekly Hit List. Founder and editor of Film Combat Syndicate. Still, very much, only human.
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