Mesa of Lost Women (DVD)

Plane crash survivors are discovered wandering through "The Desert of Death." Grant, the pilot, regains his senses in the hospital and relates a tale of horror. A brilliant scientist, Dr. Arana, has devised a bizarre crossbreeding program to create an army of nightmarish creatures. Giant tarantulas, fiendish dwarves and beautiful, scantily-clad superwomen run amuck in his laboratory atop the Zarpa Mesa. Jackie Coogan appears as the mad scientist. Also in the fantastic cast of characters is manly Z-movie stalwart Allan Nixon (Prehistoric Women), Richard Travis (Missile To The Moon), diminutive actors John George and Angelo Rossitto, as well as Ed Wood principals Delores Fuller and Mona McKinnon. The soundtrack, which features flamenco guitar and jarring piano chords, was written by the prolific Hoyt Curtin and later used in Ed Wood's Jailbait.

• science fiction