Quiet weekends are the perfect chance to watch a good film or two. And if you’re in the mood for a haunting yet unforgettable movie about the horrors of World War 2, then there’s one that should be added to your list immediately. 

The Zone of Interest, directed by Jonathan Glazer, was released back in 2023 and has won three BAFTAs and two Academy Awards. Far from your usual gory war films, this takes on a much more eerie quality that stays with you long after the movie finishes. It follows the story of German Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss and his wife Hedwig, who live with their family in a home in the “Zone of Interest” next to the Auschwitz concentration camp.

Höss, played by Christian Friedel, lives in the beautiful home with Hedwig (Sandra Hüller) and their five children, and on the surface, they seem to live the perfect life. The youngsters spend all their time outdoors playing, while Hedwig tends to the sprawling garden.

And while the audience never sees any of the atrocities that go on beyond the garden fence, the film’s soundtrack speaks for itself. Screaming, gunshots and the sound of trains can be heard from time to time, reminding viewers the real reason why the family live and work there.

All the parents want to do is build the perfect life for their young family, but this becomes increasingly difficult with Höss overseeing the murder of thousands of people each and every week. One of the most unsettling things about this film is the forced sense of normality, and how pure evil behaviour can be brushed under the carpet.

From Hedwig wearing the prisoners’ stolen clothes to Höss approving new crematoriums to be built, the family are portrayed to be so ordinary – and seemingly oblivious to the truth.

The film is based off the 2014 novel of the same name by Martin Amis, which was partially based on real events. At awards season in 2024, it took home several accolades including an Oscar for Best Sound thanks to its eerie, haunting score.

The Guardian described it as an ‘unfortgettable drama’ and a ‘brutal masterpiece’. Film review site Roger Ebert also gave it high praise, writing: “It’s a disturbing work, guided by a discomforting sense of immaculateness that chills the viewer. It is the sanitation the film performs, which speaks to the now, in a way few Holocaust films have done before.”

And one film fan on Rotten Tomatoes wrote: “As difficult as the story is, this is a beautifully conceived and executed film. It will stay with me, in the best sense, for a long while.”

The Zone of Interest is streaming free on Channel 4 now.