When you save an nCloth in 8.5 it also saves a particle initial state cache, which it should not. (this is fixed in service pack 1) If you delete the file in your project particle folder then hopefully your file will load OK.
If not there was another crash related to large sized cloth objects, generally greater than 100 units in size. (again fixed in sp 1) If this is your problem you may be able to recover by hand editing the file if it is a .ma file.
Duncan