Pete Davidson says he came shockingly close to injuring his actual eye while filming a tense scene for his new horror movie The Home, admitting the moment left him wondering, “What the hell just happened?” during an interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. In the chat, Davidson explained that what looked like a dramatic horror-movie moment was almost dangerously real.
Davidson, best known for Saturday Night Live and now branching into horror, described how The Home production, directed by James DeMonaco, chose to shoot a scene involving a needle approaching his eye without relying on CGI, because the director felt his eyes were too distinctive to fake digitally. The poster for the film even features an eyeball and a needle close together, signaling the intensity of the sequence.
When Davidson arrived on set, he found three medical professionals waiting, not as gimmicks, but as safety support, to help film the practical shot. He admitted he assumed the sequence would be handled with visual effects, saying, “Obviously I read the script and was like, ‘That won’t be my eye. This is the movies! It’ll be a CGI eye.’” But instead, his eyelids were held open with a speculum while the needle hovered inches from his eyeball.
During the filming, one of the doctors reportedly warned that if the shot continued much longer, Davidson would suffer “real damage.” That’s when the actor stopped the take, splashed water in his eye, and later recounted the surreal moment with disbelief. “So I take the thing off. I’m like squirting it with water and stuff. I’m like, ‘What the hell just happened?’” he told Fallon, capturing both the horror-film absurdity and the real-world fear of the situation.
The Home stars Davidson as Max, a troubled man doing court-ordered community service in a retirement home who begins uncovering sinister secrets among the residents and staff. The psychological horror, written by DeMonaco and Adam Cantor, blends eerie mystery with disturbing imagery and apparently, some intense practical filmmaking choices.
Davidson’s willingness to be physically present in such a risky shot reflects his commitment to the role, even if he had to learn on the spot that horror-movie safety can sometimes veer into unexpected territory. The film was released in theaters in July 2025, adding a bizarre behind-the-scenes moment to its promotional buzz.
