Best horror film of all time? Really?

Rating: 10/10 (27 November 2012)

Actually, yes -- one of the best at least, and certainly the most affecting, suspenseful movie since "Psycho." Kubrick takes a run-of-the-mill Gothic horror story and infuses it with so many overtones, undertones and mind games that it's practically unrecognizable from Stephen King's book (which I have read, thank you, and is badly overwritten to the point of unreadability).
Much has been written about various subtexts contained in "The Shining," including Native Americans, child abuse, mirroring and subliminal messaging. A great resource is Rob Ager's Collative Learning website. I'm not sure I buy all of Ager's theories, but they are thought-provoking and well worth the time of anyone interested in this or Kubrick's other films. This much is certain: Kubrick had much more in mind when making this film than just a guy who goes crazy one winter and tries to kill his family (one synopsis from SK himself).
Take, for example, the compression of time and space. The cue cards take us from months to days, then hours, slowly ratcheting up our anticipation of some inevitable horror. Kubrick also makes excellent use (as always) of sound, as when Danny tours the Overlook in his Big Wheel, which moves from carpet, to wood floor, to carpet, to floor, in a rhythm which simulates a heartbeat. The scene in which Danny encounters the Grady girls at the end of the hallway imploring him to "come play with us" is simply the scariest damn scene in all of cinema; even after dozens of viewings, that scene makes my skin crawl.
There are elements to "The Shining" that I admit I still don't understand. Why does Mr. Grady have two different first names? What was the guy in the bear suit doing? Why was this shining ability only good enough to bring Halloran to the Overlook, but not foresee Jack's axe? Most perplexing to me -- if relatively trivial -- is the function of Bill, who is not only present in several scenes but in the center of the frame? He has little to say, let alone do, in any of the scenes, leaving the viewer (this one at least) to wonder why he's in the movie at all.
Nicholson's performance has been widely criticized as "over the top" and worse, yet I find it not only perfectly suited to the Jack Torrance character, but right up there with anything he's ever done. Shelley Duval went through hell making the picture (for evidence see the making-of doc by Kubrick's daughter on the DVD), but she is quite good. The scene where she's reading Jack's "all work and no play" pages, growing ever more distraught, is another highlight.
As with all Kubrick films, "The Shining" must be seen several times to be fully appreciated. I first thought it was just a really good horror film, but have come to appreciate it as a great film, period.