Land Of Many Perfumes (1968)

Tang Sanzang and his band of merry men... err, demigods... continue their Journey To The West, this time arriving at a kingdom populated entirely by women who've never seen a man before, and are a bit frisky as a result. On top of this, a group of evil spirits that live nearby have ill intentions towards the gang.

The Land Of Many Perfumes treads similar ground to the second half of Cave Of The Silken Web - well, except that the villains want to marry Tang Sanzang rather than eat him. Once again many of the characters have the ability to change their appearance at will so there is lots of body swapping and impersonation going on.

As usual, Ba Jie (Pigsy)'s greed and lust lead the group into danger and it's up to Sun Wukong to save them, even when they think he's being a dick and treat him badly. The main theme of Journey To The West seems to be that being cynical and cranky is the best way to make progress in life, if the films are any indication.

There are some impressive special effects (for the time) including some cool miniatures with rear projection to situate the characters in dramatic situations, such as a fight between a giant cat and mongoose. It's a shame Shaw Brothers didn't do more of this sort of thing (or more fantasy films in general, I guess).

The setup is fun, but despite the bevy of beautiful babes this fourth film does feel a bit tired compared to the others in the Monkey Goes West series - or maybe it was just me. I guess contemporary audiences felt the same way though, since this is where the series ends, with the titular journey incomplete.