Patrick H. Willems

Last updated
Patrick Willems
Patrick H. Willems interviewed on Deep Linkers.jpg
Willems in 2025
Born (1987-09-29) September 29, 1987 (age 38)
Saratoga Springs, New York, U.S.
Education Oberlin College
Years active2011–present
Notable workNight of the Coconut
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2011 - present
Genres
Subscribers603 thousand
Views73.4 million
Last updated: December 21, 2025
Website www.patrickwillems.com

Patrick H. Willems (born September 29, 1987) [1] [2] [3] is an American video-essayist and filmmaker. On the YouTube channel that he has maintained since 2011, Willems initially posted short films before transitioning into producing video essays in 2016. His video "What if Wes Anderson Directed X-Men?" gained notoriety. [4] He is known to mix short narrative cinematic sequences between the typical video essay format. [2] [5]

Contents

In 2022 his feature directorial debut Night of the Coconut was released. [6] In 2023 he produced The Patrick (H) Willems Star Wars Holiday special, [7] which featured previous channel guests. In 2024, Variety reported that he would be directing the film The Dinner Plan, through the indie streaming service Nebula. [8] In 2025 it was announced Willems would direct an episode of the Nebula anthology series Sub/Liminal, executive produced by Dan Jinks. [9] Later in the same year he was appointed by Nebula as 'Director of Scripted Development'. [10]

Career

YouTube

Willems began posting videos onto his YouTube channel in 2011, posting short film skits.

He then branched out into making trailers for Alternative Movies such as ‘What if Wes Anderson Directed X-Men’. The series gained notoriety and Willems continued making similar content.

In 2016, Willems uploaded his first video essay titled ‘Why Do Marvel’s Movies Look Kind of Ugly?’ which critiqued the colour grading of the MCU films. The video quickly became viral gaining over 3.2 million views. [11] From then, he transitioned into making more video essays slowly increasing in length.

Film projects

During video essays, Willems began incorporating short serialised skits about a coconut named Charles. The story arc closed out in his feature directorial debut, Night of the Coconut. [12] The film was released on 3 June 2022 on the streaming platform Nebula.

In 2025, Willems released his short film, The Dinner Plan onto Nebula starring Griffin Newman.

Personal life

Willems lives in New York.

References

  1. ↑ Willems, Patrick [@patrickhwillems] (September 12, 2024). "Dear @Criterion you're coming to my city (NYC) on my birthday (9/29) and it would make my year if I got to visit the closet. Love, Patrick" (Tweet). Retrieved 29 April 2025– via Twitter.
  2. 1 2 Mattise, Nathan (2021-03-22). "YouTuber Patrick (H) Willems has thoughts on movies—lots of thoughts". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  3. ↑ |last=Willems |first=Patrick url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4o3uRsckMto&t=123s%7Ctitle= THIRTY date=September 29, 2017 via=YouTube. Retreived December 22, 2025
  4. ↑ McMillan, Graeme (2015-03-03). "When Wes Anderson Meets 'X-Men' (Video)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  5. ↑ McMillan, Graeme (2016-07-26). "What If Pokemon Go Were an Episode of 'Black Mirror'?". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 2025-12-22.
  6. ↑ Mann, Will (2022-09-01). "Review of YouTuber Patrick Willems' 'Night of the Coconut'". International Policy Digest. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  7. ↑ "Nebula Announces Patrick Willems' STAR WARS HOLIDAY SPECIAL Special". Nerdist. 14 December 2023. Retrieved 2025-01-30.
  8. ↑ Maas, Jennifer (2024-10-28). "Nebula's 'The Dinner Plan' Short Film From Director Patrick Willems Casts Griffin Newman, Miriam Shor, Zach Cherry and 4 More (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
  9. ↑ Vlessing, Etan (2025-01-28). "Dan Jinks to Executive Produce 'Sub/liminal' Anthology Series at Nebula". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2025-04-16.
  10. ↑ Levy, Giana (2025-09-04). "Indie Streamer Nebula Taps 'The Dinner Plan' Filmmaker Patrick Willems as Director of Scripted Development (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2025-09-05.
  11. ↑ Why Do Marvel’s Movies Look Kind of Ugly?, November 16, 2016, retrieved December 23, 2025
  12. ↑ I Accidentally Made A Feature Film - Here Is What I Learned, November 26, 2021, retrieved December 23, 2025
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