Aachi & Ssipak

Aachi & Ssipak (2006) is a South Korean animated action film directed by Jo Beom-jin — watch it online on iFILM. Jo spent years on the project, and the level of craft shows: the animation is dense, kinetic, and played completely straight.

The setup: humanity has used up every conventional energy source. The only thing still in supply is human excrement. The government's solution is a popsicle called a Juicybar — handed out as a reward for each toilet visit, addictive, and also a laxative. Street hoodlums Aachi and Ssipak trade the bars on the black market until they meet a woman with a massive government allowance and suddenly find themselves hunted on two sides at once — by a diaper-wearing mutant gang called the Diaper Gang and a government kill squad that doesn't ask questions.

The concept could have been a single joke stretched thin, but the film earns its cult status by taking the action seriously. The satire on incentive structures and state control lands sharper than the premise suggests, and the pace almost never lets up. Stream Aachi & Ssipak (2006) online on iFILM.