>> jimmy:thanks to george clooney, kumail nanjiani and lenny kravitz. apologies to matt damon. nightline is next, thank you for watching, goodnight. ♪ this is "nightline." tonight, nikki haley, the rising republican taking on trump. >> you can't defeat democrat

chaos with republican chaos. and donald trump brings us chaos. >> juju: our linsey davis with rare campaign access as mayhle becomes a target for her rival. >> do you want dick cheney in 3-inch heels? >> they're five-inch heels. and i don't wear them unless i can run in them. >> juju: how she plans to set herself apart from the pack. >> i offer a different approach. no dramas, no vendettas, no whining. >> juju: plus 'tis the season. from it's a wonderful life to it's a wonderful knife. >> i don't think jimmy stewart ever thought anybody would make a movie like this. >> juju: the rise of seasonal slashers. why now some say is the e perfe time for holiday horror. >> we get started at 4:30, right? the wind whistles in your ear like a ghost. it's kind of a creepy, eerie time but in a cozy way. >> juju: and the nominees are, from taylor swift's eras film to barbie, the golden globe nominees revealed.

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chance of stopping donald trump. but she still faces an uphill battle. abc's linsey davis got rare access to the former u.n. ambassador who described how she plans to break through to voters. >> reporter: a month away from the iowa caucuses, and republican candidates are crisscrossing the state. ron desantis -- >> you have one conservative candidate running in this race, and that is me at this point. >> reporter: vivek ramaswamy. >> what i see right now is a republican party now that has failed to do what we actually need to. >> reporter: desperate to overtake the party's biggest name. >> we're going to save our democracy, and we're going to bring our country back from hell. >> reporter: donald trump. >> in jail breaking rocks on a rock pile, i would still vote for him. >> reporter: but at the moment, the only one with a fighting chance appears to be the former south carolina governor nikki haley. >> our country is in disarray. our world is on fire, and you can't defeat democrat chaos with a republican chaos. and donald trump brings us chaos. i think i offer a different

approach. no drama, no vendettas, no whining. >> reporter: in recent month, she has been holding her ground on the debate stage. >> i love all the attention, fellas. thank you for that. >> reporter: and earning big-time endorsements, like the koch network and jamie dimon. >> i urge help nikki haley too. get a choice on the republican side that might be better than trump. >> reporter: as she looks to dethrone her former boss. do you think donald trump today in 2023 is fit to be president? >> it's not about fitness. i think he is fit to be president. it's should he be president. i don't think he should be president. >> reporter: for those who criticize you saying that you flip-flop on donald trump, he has even said she criticize me one minute and 15 minutes later she uncriticizes me. how do you respond to that? >> anti-trumpers don't think i hate him enough. and pro-trumpers don't think i love him enough. i call it like i see it. there are certain things that i

think he has done that he has done well. there are certain things that i disagree with him on. >> reporter: trump continues to a hold a large lead, 32 points ahead of desantis and 35 points ahead of haley. but since haley launched her campaign, she steadily gained momentum. >> have i complete faith that she will run our country excellent. i also believe she is the only person that i see that can unite the country a little bit too. i. >> i will not vote for any other republican outside of nikki haley. >> she is a fighter, and she is not going back down to men bullying her around. >> we have seen her emerge as kind of the consensus choice for the donor class in the republican party for a large chunk of the party that feels like it's time to move on from donald trump, even if they like trump policies. >> byron: the 51-year-old daughter of indian immigrants was never politically active growing up. at an event at

university, she was unspired to make the leap by the unlikeliest of names. >> i don't know that i have anything in common with hillary clinton from a policy aspect. but on that stage she said for every reason they tell you can't do something, that's the reason you should do it. and i walked out of there and said i'm running for office. and i defeated the longest serving legislator in a primary in south carolina. >> we also have some of the toughest illegal immigration laws in the country. >> reporter: her stances on most hot button issues align with her party. but on the topic of abortion, she stands out from her rivals. >> some states are going more pro-life. i welcome that. some states are going more on the choice side. i wish that wasn't the case, but the people decide. >> you talked before about your own fertility issues having your own two children. as the only woman running tonight gop side, do you think that your gender gives you a different perspective when it comes to this matter? >> i do. for women, we feel it. we feel this far our daughters. we feel it for our sisters and our friends. i had a college roommate who was

raped, and i wouldn't wish on anyone what she went through wondering if she was pregnant. and so everybody has a story. i know what these women's stories are. and i'm very sympathetic to it. >> reporter: and like most fellow republicans, haley staunchly reports israel's military efforts. >> look, we care about the people in gaza, especially the civilians. we know hamas is there. we want to make sure we get as many people out safe. we've got our hostages there. but the reality is the best way to help the people in gaza is to eliminate hamas. >> where should the palestinians go? >> they should be going through the rafah gate in egypt take them. but i've always said what you should have is they show go to pro hamas countries, qatar, iran. >> reporter: but they're on the run for their lives, taking whatever they can, their kids in tow. they're not able to get into egypt. how you supposed to even make it to qatar at this point? >> isn't that telling that egypt won't take them? why won't egypt take them?

because they don't trust which ones are terrorists and which runs aren't. it's a sad state of affairs. but the reality of that evil is very clear in arab countries too. >> nikki haley is tapping into a tradition in the republican party of very strong support for israel, and she has taken on a much more hawkish stance than even many of her other republican rivals. >> reporter: but nothing has put haley in the headlines more than when her fellow candidates attacked. >> she is bird brained. i know her well. she is not up to the job. >> you have a corruption problem. and i think that's what people need to know. nikki is corrupt. >> reporter: haley has regularly been targeted on the debate stage. >> she caves any time the left comes after her. any time the media comes after her. >> reporter: and on the airwave. >> haley raised taxes like hillary, backs open borders like hillary. >> no republican up to and including donald trump has been attacked near as much as nikki haley has been attacked during these debates. >> do you want a leader from a

different generation who is going to put this country first, or do you want dick cheney in three-inch heels? >> yes, i'd first like to say they're five-inch heels, and i don't wear them unless you can run in them. >> in some ways, that is the mark of a front-runner, and that's an enviable place to be, but it also has an impact. >> reporter: but on the sidelines, one of her greatest supporters is her daughter reena. >> i'm very proud of her and rooting for her every step of the way. >> reporter: the 25-year-old was targeted in last month's gop debate. >> in the last debate she made fun of me for joining tiktok while her own daughter was using the app for a long time. >> leave my daughter out of your voice. >> here is the truth. >> i felt like it was unnecessary. i feel like it's kind of people know not to bring kids into a situation. so i felt like it was kind of uncalled for. >> reporter: haley's husband deployed to africa with the national guard earlier this year. she says the support of her daughter has been invaluable.

>> whenever i've run before, michael has always been that person in debates that gives me good energy, that i look to, that gives me the smile. and she has taken it upon herself to be at every single debate, to sit in the seat he would normally sit? >> you have this perspective of nikki haley unlike anyone else. how do you describe her as a mom? >> she is fun. she's loving. she is caring. she has always been very supportive. >> reporter: growing up in rural south carolina to indian immigrants, family has always been important to haley. >> we were the only indian family in the small southern town. they didn't know what to make of us, and we didn't know what to make of them. >> reporter: yet today she is making strides with voters of all backgrounds. >> we don't know right now how the story ends. we know that nikki haley is a viable candidate for the republican nomination, and if she is able to beat donald trump, it will be a heroic rise. >> reporter: for now, haley is simply working to beat those odds. >> i have been underestimated in everything i've ever done.

no one is going to outwork me in this race. no one is going to outsmart me in this race, because we have a country to save. >> juju: our thanks to linsey. when we come back, holiday slasher films. why this christmas season, the weather isn't the only thing that's frightful. weather isn't the only thing that's frightful. >> wish granted. ( ♪ ) nissan has a car for everyone. (engine revving) every driver who wants more. more turbo. ( ♪ ) more freedom. ( ♪ ) more electric. ( ♪ ) (engine revving) at nissan, more is all we do. ( ♪ ) ♪ (nissan mnemonic) ♪ i love that my daughter still needs me. but sometimes i can't help due to burning and stabbing pain in my hands, so i use nervive.

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and good cheer, more and more moviegoers want to scream in fear. abc's ashan singh takes us inside the rise of holiday horror films. >> reporter: for many, the holidays are forsything in front of the fire and watching a christmas classic. >> merry christmas! >> merry christmas! >> reporter: like "it's a wonderful life". >> every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings. >> reporter: but for others, the holidays mean horror and movies like "it's a wonderful knife." >> i don't think jimmy stewart ever thought anybody would make a movie like this. it's like sweet and savory at the same time. >> what do you want viewers at home to take away from watching this movie, especially if they think they're going in expecting something else? >> if you have "knife" in the title, then i think you can expect a lot of knives. >> reporter: the christmas slasher film starring comedian joel mchale, known for the show "community" -- >> can you imagine what scenes could do to a person?

>> reporter: plays off the beloved classic. >> it follows the same mechanism that "it's a wonderful life used" which is seemingly a nice charming movie. >> i give you christmas! >> and then it turns into a film noir. >> everyone would be better off if i was never born. [ screaming ] >> you know, with a slasher, with a faceless angel running in and out of scenes. you know, killing characters off. >> help me! >> reporter: from a killer angel to a chase scene tied to christmas lights. "it's a wonderful knife" drips with the atmosphere of the season. the film is just one of dozens of slashers that you and your family can enjoy this festive season. >> you be safe now. >> reporter: along with your turkey. you can be terrorized by an ax-wielding maniac in "thanksgiving." place your bets on who will

survive the night in "krampus" or sing along to your favorite zombie musical in "anna and the apocalypse." allison wilmore is a film critic for "new york" magazine and vulture. what is it about the holidays that make people want to be scared? >> i think that just like we love that comforting feeling, sometimes we want the opposite. >> reporter: it's been 20 years since will ferrell warmed our hearts in "elf". >> santa coming to down. santa! oh my god! i know him! >> reporter: the film becoming an instant classic. >> big stars really used to be the face of these holiday movies that would come out. >> you would see everyone from jimmy stewart to arnold schwarzenegger would make a christmas movie. it was part of something you could do in your career as a giant movie star is less the movie star.com of what they're offering and more just the volume. like you can find so many of them. >> reporter: today's viewers have an abundance of choices.

you can fuzzy from hallmark like clothe everything christmas". >> perhaps i can show you a faster way to you'll tide springs. >> let me tell you a story. >> reporter: or something to make you scream, try "the sacrifice game". >> it's going to be the best christmas of your lives. >> we need to hide. >> reporter: these movies are generating millions. are you a horror movie fan? >> die-hard. it's like my calling. >> reporter: sam zimmerman is the vp of programing for shudder, a streaming service entirely devoted to horror. is it subversive to release these movies during the most wonderful time of year? >> well, i guess i would say for who is it the most wonderful time of year, right? a lot of other people are feeling stress and anger or grief or all these other things. and that's what a lot of holiday horror confronts in a really lovely way. >> reporter: zimmerman says this time of year is actually perfect for horror. >> it gets dark at 4:30. the wind whistles in your ear like a ghost. candles flicker. lights flicker.

i think it's a kind of creepy, eerie time but in a cozy way. >> reporter: ghost stories have been a part of christmas for centuries. >> a christmas carol and charles dickens which you might not think it is the most iconic christmas horror story. >> humbug, i tell you, humbug! >> reporter: the charles dickens classic was published in 1843. the first of many movie adapt takes came out in 1938. >> this is not my end, please! >> reporter: but it was 1974's "black christmas" about a serial killer hiding in a sorority house that brought holiday horror to the masses. >> hello? >> pulled on that old urban legend like about the call is coming from inside the house. and that is always frightening. >> reporter: there are no elements of hallmark in that one. >> no. "black christmas" is really scary. billy the killer you never see. he is kind of an eyeball and a

creepy voice. >> reporter: by the 1980s, the christmas slasher had gone mainstream, with the release of "silent night, deadly night" in 1984. >> you have made it through halloween. now try and survive christmas. >> reporter: that seemed like a watershed moment for this subgenre. >> it was a big moment. it came at a time where a lot of things were converging, because you had this idea of a santa with an ax. he is killing people willy-nilly. the tv advertisements were famously run during football games and daytime tv, "little house on the prairie." >> reporter: the films sparking a wave of protests. >> save our kids. >> reporter: eventually it was pulled from theaters. >> mainly because of this idea of what about the children, what about the children seeing santa's arm with an ax. but really, it's a lot of fun. >> reporter: what do you make of people who say these movies are ruining the holidays? >> there is such this wealth of holiday content, it's hard to really object to there also being some of these action movies or violent movies slasher

movies. because it's not like there is a shortage of alternatives if you're look for them. >> reporter: but if watching a christmas party turned into a massacre isn't for you, you can always turn to a classic. joel, what is some you ever favorite holiday movies? >> i think "home alone" is a perfect movie. >> hello. >> reporter: perhaps bask in the glow of "the muppets christmas carol." >>. ♪ there goes mr. humbug ♪ >> michael king gives a totally straight-faced performance. you would think he is in the most serious bbc drama of all time, just happening to be surrounded by the muppets. >> the bookkeepers like to be suddenly unemployed! >> reporter: or revel in the chaos of "gremlins". >> it's just a holiday classic, even though it is kind of mean and chaotic and fun. >> reporter: so from us here at "nightline" to you, may the perfect holiday movie find you this holiday season. >> juju: our thanks to ashan. when we come back, the

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and finally tonight, pink may well be the color of this year's golden globe awards. >> hi, barbie! >> hi, ken. >> in nominations announced today, greta gerwig's "barbie" took the most nods with nine, while the movie that shared "barbie's" opening weekend, "oppenheimer" took eight. those two films will duke it out in a new category, a cinematic and box office achievement. but they'll have another worthy contender. >> welcome to the eras tour! >> taylor swift's "eras" tour film which could snag swift her first golden globe. >> we're about to go on a little adventure together, and that adventure is going to span 17 years of music. >> juju: in television, "succession" led the pack. that's "nightline." you can watch all of our full we'l see you right back here tomorrow. thanks for