Emergency

Play trailer

2:01

Emergency

R

2022

1h 45m

Comedy

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

91%

Tomatometer

161 Reviews

73%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

Kunle (Donald Elise Watkins) and his best friend, Sean (RJ Cyler), are both seniors in college about to embark on an epic night of Spring Break parties. Sean has the whole night planned out, including every party they will hit on their "legendary tour." Kunle is down, yet mostly concerned with finishing up his mold experiment in his lab, as his acceptance to Princeton is hinging on the results. They return to their apartment to pre-game, yet find that their roommate, Carlos (Sebastian Chacon), left the door open. As they enter with trepidation, Sean and Kunle discover a drunk, semi-conscious White female they don't know on the floor and an oblivious Carlos, who didn't hear her come in over the videogame blaring in his ears. Kunle wants to call the cops but Sean vehemently opposes the idea concerned how it will look when the cops show up (two Black men, one Latino man and a passed out White woman). Together, Carlos, Sean and Kunle load the girl -- who they nickname Goldilocks, but whose real name is Emma (Maddie Nichols) -- into Sean's van, with the intention of taking her somewhere safe rather than calling the police. Meanwhile, Emma's sister, Maddy (Sabrina Carpenter), has realized that Emma left the party they were at, and begins to search for her in a drunk panic using Emma's phone's location. What ensues is a chaotic, hilarious, and tension-filled chase all over town as our trio grapples with their differences while attempting to bring Emma to safety.

Watch on Prime Video

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

Taking the form of a classic college comedy while adding some socially relevant function, Emergency is as smart and disturbing as it is hilarious.

Read Critics Reviews

Mark Kermode

Kermode and Mayo's Take (YouTube)

This would've worked better as a short film.

Jan 11, 2024

Full Review

Dylan Roth

Observer

Director Carey Williams and writer K.D. Dávila ably balance the film’s gross-out humor with its commentary on racial double standards...and lead actor RJ Cyler steals the show with movie star charisma.

Dec 14, 2022

Full Review

Danny Leigh

Financial Times

Director Carey Williams is a gifted multitasker. Emergency never loses the flavour of comedy; it can also be deeply astringent.

Rated: 4/5

Jun 10, 2022

Full Review

Francesca Steele

iNews.co.uk

This is an excellent, nuanced film about brotherhood, but the sisterhood takes a back seat.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 11, 2024

Full Review

Brittany Patrice Witherspoon

Pop Culture Reviews

If you’re looking for an uncomfortably revealing film about the layered dangers of being a person of color in America, this film is for you.

Rated: 3.5/5

Jul 23, 2024

Full Review

Manuel São Bento

MSB Reviews

Emergency intelligently blends impactful social commentary with an occasionally unbalanced dark humor, but it's the extremely tense, captivating, frighteningly realistic story that ultimately grabs the audience's undivided attention.

Rated: B+

Jul 25, 2023

Full Review

Read all reviews

Marshall

this movie had me on the edge of my seat and in my feels the whole time. they made it perfectly

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/25/22

Full Review

nick

this movie had it all. comedy, drama, heartbreak, intensity, i 100% recommend you see this. powerful stuff.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/22/22

Full Review

Richard m

Such a fun movie with a powerful message.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/21/22

Full Review

Alvin C.

Come for the laughs. Stay for the emotion.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/29/25

Full Review

Stephen C

Funny in 1.75 hours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated R for Some Sexual References, Pervasive Language and Drug Use!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/02/25

Full Review

Audience Member

It was definitely a good film. When I saw clips of the movie, I was not expecting anything much aside from comedy and stress (I get stressed watching thrillers). It's not your typical comedy movie but I did laugh at some of their moments. More importantly, it tackles relevant issues in today's society and it was heart wrenching.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/21/25

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Carey Williams

Director

RJ Cyler

Sean

Donald Elise Watkins

Kunle

Sebastian Chacon

Carlos

Sabrina Carpenter

Maddie

Maddie Nichols

Emma

Half Baked: Totally High

%

%

Half Baked: Totally High

Watchlist

Wicked Little Letters

80%

92%

Wicked Little Letters

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Wicked Little Letters

The People We Hate at the Wedding

30%

39%

The People We Hate at the Wedding

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The People We Hate at the Wedding

I Love My Dad

74%

83%

I Love My Dad

Watchlist

TRAILER

for I Love My Dad

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

85%

62%

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Everything Everywhere All at Once and TÁR Lead Independent Spirit Awards

The 7 Best Films We Saw at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival

Emergency: Trailer 1

2:01

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

Kunle (Donald Elise Watkins) and his best friend, Sean (RJ Cyler), are both seniors in college about to embark on an epic night of Spring Break parties. Sean has the whole night planned out, including every party they will hit on their "legendary tour." Kunle is down, yet mostly concerned with finishing up his mold experiment in his lab, as his acceptance to Princeton is hinging on the results. They return to their apartment to pre-game, yet find that their roommate, Carlos (Sebastian Chacon), left the door open. As they enter with trepidation, Sean and Kunle discover a drunk, semi-conscious White female they don't know on the floor and an oblivious Carlos, who didn't hear her come in over the videogame blaring in his ears. Kunle wants to call the cops but Sean vehemently opposes the idea concerned how it will look when the cops show up (two Black men, one Latino man and a passed out White woman). Together, Carlos, Sean and Kunle load the girl -- who they nickname Goldilocks, but whose real name is Emma (Maddie Nichols) -- into Sean's van, with the intention of taking her somewhere safe rather than calling the police. Meanwhile, Emma's sister, Maddy (Sabrina Carpenter), has realized that Emma left the party they were at, and begins to search for her in a drunk panic using Emma's phone's location. What ensues is a chaotic, hilarious, and tension-filled chase all over town as our trio grapples with their differences while attempting to bring Emma to safety.

Director: Carey Williams
Producer: Marty Bowen, John Fischer, Isaac Klausner
Screenwriter: KD Davila
Distributor: Amazon Studios
Production Co: Amazon Studios, Temple Hill Entertainment
Rating: R (Some Sexual References|Pervasive Language|Drug Use)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 20, 2022, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): May 27, 2022
Runtime: 1h 45m

Most Popular at Home Now