is this better then the american remake

Definitely. This movie is a creepfest. As the backstory plays out you find out the significance of the supernatural events that Mariko is witnessing in the apartment, and it's spooky as hell. There was only one scene that made me laugh out loud, just because it involved hair being used in an unusual way. The American remake has a lot more scenes that are unintentionally funny, but it never really gets scary like the original movie does.